Specialists at the Cuban Neuroscience Center (Cneuro) have developed a neonatal screening system for the early and objective detection of hearing and vision disorders in newborns.
Through the recording and analysis of automatic auditory evoked potentials of the brainstem and otoacoustic emissions, the device called Infantix achieves the stated objective, while also being able to differentiate between the occurrence of conductive losses and those caused by neural damage.
It has the distinction of being the first technology of its kind in the world to incorporate visual research into its functions.
As electronics and telecommunications engineer, Ernesto Velarde Reyes, head of this project at Cneuro, explained to Granma International, another feature of this scientific tool is that it has a system designed to couple different modules depending on the test and the signal registers.
To perform the otoacoustic emission tests, he emphasized, the module is equipped with an attachment that has microphones and speakers, considering that the clinical analysis consists of the device emitting a sound and picking up the echo of the same.
"In this way, information is obtained on the functioning of the entire middle and inner ear, and based on this data, the Infantix performs the necessary analysis and provides a result.”
"In a vision-related evoked potential, the patient receives a visual stimulus and our screening system evaluates the brain's response to that stimulus. In this way, it can assess the state of the retina and optic nerve, as well as the part of the brain cortex, responsible for visual processing.”
According to the Master in Digital Systems, this type of research can detect various ophthalmological diseases, including congenital cataracts and optic nerve neuropathies.
"In both visual and auditory evoked potentials, if the device detects an abnormality, it will indicate that the patient should be referred, either to repeat the test weeks later or to be treated directly by specialists."
Velarde Reyes pointed out that the importance of Infantix lies in its ability to detect any type of auditory and visual abnormality in newborns as early as possible, through a universal screening before they leave the maternity hospitals.
"International and Cuban researches agree that children born deaf or with partial hearing loss, but who receive the necessary treatment in the first six months of life, by the age of five have acquired the same cognitive abilities as children without hypoacusis (the most common congenital condition in the world) and are able to lead a normal life."
In February 2019, Infantix received the sanitary registration granted by the Center for State Control of Drugs, Equipment and Medical Devices (Cecmed) to perform auditory screening, while for visual analysis it received it in April 2020.
Recently, a clinical trial was completed at the Ramón González Coro Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in the Cuban capital, which included a sample of more than 300 babies over 48 hours old to evaluate the system's performance, and the results were excellent, said Velarde Reyes.
He reported that work is underway to add a cardiovascular screening module to the system, which will undoubtedly provide added value.
Last year, he explained, 22 units were produced, ten of which were installed in maternity hospitals through the Ministry of Health's equipment introduction program, while another ten were installed through a project with MediCuba-Switzerland.
"Today, the system is used in medical institutions in the provinces of Villa Clara, Holguín, Matanzas, Artemisa, Mayabeque and Havana, specifically in the Marfán-Borrás Hospital, in the cochlear implant service”.
Through an international project called Adelante 2, the Infantix is part of the technology installed in the Unit in Neurodevelopment of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in Queretaro, and in the El Niño y la Mujer Hospital, in the Aztec nation itself, the engineer pointed out.
It has a sanitary registration in Venezuela and since a few weeks, he stressed, that they are in talks to obtain this documentation in other countries and to be able to export it.
