Artificial Intelligence to Define Very Young Brains

"This is one of the first times that artificial intelligence has been used to better define the different parts of a newborn's brain on an MRI: namely the grey matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid," said Dr. Gregory A. Lodygensky, a neonatologist at CHU Sainte-Justine and professor at Universit-- de Montr--al. 'The new technique that uses artificial intelligence allows babies' brains to be examined quickly, accurately and reliably. Scientists see it as a major asset for supporting research that not only addresses brain development in neonatal care, but also the effectiveness of neuroprotective strategies.' "Until today, the tools available were complex, often intermingled and difficult to access," he added. In collaboration with Professor Jose Dolz, an expert in medical image analysis and machine learning at --TS, the researchers were able to adapt the tools to the specificities of the neonatal setting and then validate them. In evaluating a range of tools available in artificial intelligence, CHU Sainte-Justine researchers found that these tools had limitations, particularly with respect to pediatric research.