Monitoring and treating the heart has received much attention in terms of research, industrial products and clinical practice. It is now the time and opportunity for monitoring and treating the brain! Like heart attack, “brain attack” is entering the mainstream. Like the ECG monitors, cardiac intensive care units and implantable pacemakers and defibrillators, devices are under development to monitor, diagnose and treat neurological disorders and impairments.

    My talk will describe the essentials of heart vs. brain monitoring and then focus on our research on brain monitoring. In particular, we utilize brain waves, EEG and evoked potentials to monitor the status of the brain during ischemic brain injury. I will present the mathematical algorithms to analyze the brain rhythms. On the basic science level, I will present data on what happens to neurons during such events as ischemic brain injury.

    The principal focus and excitement of our work stems from its potential for clinical translation: taking research from bench to bedside. I will present our experience on working with patients who had cardiac arrest and whose brain was monitored. I will also share my experience with developing clinical grade instruments in partnership with a startup incubated out of the University.