‘Brain cooling’ expert at Cork conference

The man responsible for the development of “brain cooling”, the first technique to reduce brain injury in newborns deprived of oxygen at birth, is among a range of international speakers who will address a conference on newborn brain monitoring that gets under way in Cork today.

Professor Alistair Gunn, a paediatrician-scientist in the Department of Physiology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, led the research team responsible for the development of brain hypothermia, the only medical intervention proven to reduce brain damage, and improve an infant’s chance of survival. This treatment has become a standard of care around the world.

Conference host and co-chair, Professor Geraldine Boylan, said the technique is used to “cool” approximately 20 babies a year at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH), and that it has improved outcomes for some.