Thanks to advancements in medical care, more and more premature babies are surviving. However, many of these babies are born with lung problems because their lungs are not as well developed as those in babies born at term. These lung problems can have life-long effects.
Not all preterm babies develop this so-called "Chronic Lung Disease of Infants" (CLDI) but at present, doctors are unable to predict which babies will and which babies won't. If we can develop better ways to determine which premature babies will experience lung problems, doctors will be able to begin treating those babies who need help earlier. This could have real benefits to their life-long lung health.
Professor Stocks and her team aim to develop non-invasive, comfortable and safe techniques which will help doctors to assess the lung health of premature babies. These results will help to identify factors that contribute to the development of chronic lung disease of prematurity so that better methods of caring for these vulnerable infants, both before and after birth, can be developed.
Grant: Project Grant
Duration: 30 months
Amount awarded: £119,982
Relevant disease area(s): chronic lung disease of infancy, respiratory distress, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, prematurity
Relevant age group(s): all
