UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
Abate, F. ; Ljungberg, E. LU
; Sundgren, P.C.
LU
and Williams, S.C.R.
(2024)
In Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
69.
- Abstract
- Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18... (More)
- Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child's life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. © 2024 (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/0956762b-021d-4eed-8fe1-ccbb318ff4b3
- author
- Abate, F.
; Ljungberg, E.
LU
; Sundgren, P.C.
LU
and Williams, S.C.R.
- author collaboration
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Child Health, Environmental Adversity, Global Health, Healthy Development, Low Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Neurodevelopment, Africa south of the Sahara, Article, Bayley Scales of Infant Development, body growth, body height, body weight, brain development, child development, child health, cultural anthropology, environmental factor, factor analysis, global health, health program, human, low field magnetic resonance neuroimaging, low income country, magnetic field, mental capacity, mental development, middle income country, nervous system development, neuroimaging, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, nutritional status, outcome assessment, prediction, psychometry, public health, reliability, sensitivity and specificity, skill, social adaptation, South Asia
- in
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
- volume
- 69
- article number
- 101397
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85198983866
- pmid:39029330
- ISSN
- 1878-9293
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101397
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0956762b-021d-4eed-8fe1-ccbb318ff4b3
- date added to LUP
- 2024-09-03 10:53:53
- date last changed
- 2024-09-04 03:07:13
@article{0956762b-021d-4eed-8fe1-ccbb318ff4b3,
abstract = {{Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child's life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. © 2024}},
author = {{Abate, F. and Ljungberg, E. and Sundgren, P.C. and Williams, S.C.R.}},
issn = {{1878-9293}},
keywords = {{Child Health; Environmental Adversity; Global Health; Healthy Development; Low Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neurodevelopment; Africa south of the Sahara; Article; Bayley Scales of Infant Development; body growth; body height; body weight; brain development; child development; child health; cultural anthropology; environmental factor; factor analysis; global health; health program; human; low field magnetic resonance neuroimaging; low income country; magnetic field; mental capacity; mental development; middle income country; nervous system development; neuroimaging; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; nutritional status; outcome assessment; prediction; psychometry; public health; reliability; sensitivity and specificity; skill; social adaptation; South Asia}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience}},
title = {{UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101397}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.dcn.2024.101397}},
volume = {{69}},
year = {{2024}},
}