In Light of Research

“There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

~Edith Wharton

In our case, at BC Children’s Hospital, our patients are our candles while our researchers, nurses and doctors act as our mirrors.

Dr. Steven Miller of the BC Child & Family Research Institute is no exception. Ground breaking work is currently taking place at BC Children’s Hospital and it has to do with what we can’t see; what needs the light of research.

Dr. Steven Miller is leading the way on how to better protect a newborn’s brain. He is a neurologist at BCCH and his research involves imaging technology and how it can help protect premature babies and their neurological development once they are no longer in the womb. Dr. Miller’s research is garnering its share of attention. The Globe and Mail newspaper featured his research in an article this summer.

The following excerpt is from The Globe and Mail article titled “Technology allows doctors to peek inside baby’s brain,” August 11th, 2010

“Premature babies, [Doctor Miller's team has] learned, tend to suffer damage to their white matter, which connects different parts of the brain and allows those parts to communicate with each other. That’s different from term babies – their injuries tend to affect the grey matter that makes up the structures of the brain.

Dr. Miller wants to be able to scan the brains of premature babies… and offer a prognosis that would either reassure families or help them prepare for the extra care, therapy or treatment their children may need as they grow up. “

D. Miller and his team began their research in 2006. Through extensive testing and 175 newborn brain scans, Dr, Miller has found roughly one in three premature babies have signs of white matter injuries. He’s now working to see if there is a link between how severe those injures are and whether the child will face developmental problems in the future.

To read the complete article in The Globe and Mail, click here.

If you would like to donate to the BCCHF to further child-healthcare research in BC and help outfit our hospital with the best technology available, click here.