Ultrasound and algorithms to diagnose bacterial meningitis in babies

(FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology) Currently the only test to diagnose bacterial meningitis in babies is through a lumbar puncture, a painful and difficult procedure to perform. For this reason, a group of biomedical engineers decided to search for an alternative and developed a portable device that can detect this illness with a simple ultrasound scan of the fontanelle. The high-resolution image obtained is then analyzed with algorithms and within seconds indicates if there is cellularity in the cerebrospinal fluid that is sign of infection.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news