In a brightly lit ward at Cambridge’s Rosie Maternity Hospital, three-week-old Theo lies peacefully asleep, blissfully unaware that he is part of a medical breakthrough that could transform the lives of thousands of newborns. Gently fitted with a small black cap—resembling a swimmer’s or rugby player’s headgear—Theo is helping researchers trial a world-first technology designed to detect brain injuries in babies quickly and comfortably, right at the cot-side.
This pioneering effort is part of the Fast UltraSound Imaging with Optics in the Newborn (fUSiON) study, a three-year initiative launched on November 7, 2025, at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH). The study aims to develop the first cot-side functional neuroimaging device that can rapidly identify brain injuries such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and learning difficulties in newborns. If successful, this wearable device could soon become a fixture in hospitals across the UK, potentially changing the landscape of neonatal care.
Brain injuries in newborns are a major cause of lifelong disability, including conditions like cerebral palsy, learning difficulties, epilepsy, and autism spectrum disorders. These not only impact affected individuals and their families physically and psychologically, but also carry a significant economic burden for society. According to CUH Communications, the current imaging techniques—cranial ultrasound (CUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—have notable limitations. They often struggle to predict the true extent or nature of a brain injury, let alone forecast future impairments, because the relationship between brain structure and function is incredibly complex. Moreover, MRI scans are expensive, cumbersome, and cannot be performed regularly, which is a major drawback given how rapidly a newborn’s brain can change in the weeks around birth.
Enter the new cap, developed by researchers in Cambridge and trialed at the Rosie Maternity Hospital. Dr. Flora Faure, a researcher with the Fusion study, describes the device as “the first time that light and ultrasound have been used together like this to give a more complete picture of the brain.” The cap, dotted with hexagonal sensor bumps and fastened under the chin, uses high-density diffuse optical tomography to track changes in oxygen around the brain’s surface. Simultaneously, functional ultrasound images the small blood vessels deep within the brain. This dual approach provides a richer, more dynamic view of brain activity than traditional methods.
The device’s portability is a game-changer. Unlike MRI, which requires moving a fragile newborn to a noisy scanner and waiting up to 20 minutes for a scan, this cap can be used right in the baby’s cot. “MRI has limitations for two reasons: one is the cost and availability of scan slots,” explains Dr. Alexis Joannides, consultant neurosurgeon and co-director of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury. “The other is that you have to take the baby to a noisy scanner, wait maybe 20 minutes for the scan and then take the baby back again. It means, realistically, you can't perform a series of scans, but in those first weeks, the brain can change daily so having a way of doing repeated tests is incredibly powerful.”
The Fusion study has already spent 12 months successfully proving the concept with healthy and premature babies. Now, the focus is shifting to infants at higher risk of brain damage. By conducting regular, non-invasive tests, the team hopes to identify problems earlier, allowing for faster intervention and therapy. “Understanding brain activity patterns in both term and preterm infants can help us identify those most vulnerable to injury at an early stage,” says Professor Topun Austin, consultant neonatologist and director of the Cambridge University Hospital’s Evelyn Perinatal Imaging Centre. “We have spent 12 months successfully proving the concept with the help of healthy and premature babies and will now focus on babies considered to be at higher risk of brain damage.”
For families, the promise of earlier diagnosis is significant. Amanda Richardson, founder of the charity Action Cerebral Palsy, highlights the challenge many parents face: “For many children with cerebral palsy, the road to diagnosis is a long one, and families can spend years knowing their child is 'at risk' of developmental issues but not fully understanding what that will mean. Technology like this could make all the difference, but it's important that the capacity of community therapists is boosted to keep up with demand, as there is already a long wait for help.”
The device’s potential extends beyond just monitoring babies with known problems. “We still have hurdles to overcome, but we hope, within three to five years we'll have a product that can be evaluated more widely,” says Dr. Joannides. “Cost permitting, it could not only monitor babies with a known problem, but also be a screening tool to help identify others who may be at risk.” The NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Injury is supporting the study, providing both funding and expertise to help ensure the technology can be rolled out across the NHS if the trials prove successful.
The cap’s design is as innovative as its function. Lightweight and comfortable, it can be fitted to even the tiniest of infants without distress. The cap’s sensors, connected by a white cable to computers, feed real-time data to monitors, allowing clinicians to observe brain function as it happens. This not only improves comfort for the baby but also enables repeated scans, which is crucial for tracking rapid changes in brain development.
Brain injury in newborns can result from various causes—premature birth, oxygen deprivation, haemorrhage, infection, or birth trauma. For the five in every 1,000 babies who suffer such injuries, current monitoring methods often fall short in predicting long-term outcomes. The new technology promises to fill this gap, providing a clearer, more actionable picture of brain health in those critical early days and weeks.
Parents like Stani Georgieva, mother of baby Theo, are proud to be part of the study. “His dad and I are both scientists and when Theo grows up he'll be able to take advantage of all of the advancements that have been made through research, so we felt it was important for him to be a little part of that understanding,” she says. Their participation reflects a broader hope that today’s research will pave the way for tomorrow’s healthier children.
As the fUSiON study moves forward, the world will be watching. If this technology proves successful, it could revolutionize neonatal care by making brain monitoring faster, more accurate, and accessible in every hospital. For now, the sight of a tiny baby in a cot, wearing a cap covered in sensors, signals not just a scientific milestone but a glimpse of a future where fewer families face the uncertainty and hardship of undetected brain injury.
