About
Mapping the progression of brain disorders
By collecting information about how children function throughout their development, we gain a clearer understanding of the course and impact of brain disorders. This enables us to better inform parents and children in the future about what to expect after a diagnosis.
If we know the expected developmental trajectories for children with a specific brain disorder within a particular domain, we can also intervene more quickly when a child’s development deviates from this pattern. Early intervention is crucial for brain disorders, as treatments are often more effective when started in time.
Interested in collaborating?
The datasets of the Child Brain Lab are unique and can provide valuable insights, even beyond the research goals described above. If you are interested in a collaboration, please feel free to contact us at kinderhersenlab@erasmusmc.nl.
Finding the best way to increase patient participation
Children can view their results from the Child Brain Lab through the Self Portrait, a special digital patient record designed for children. The goal of the Self Portrait is to engage children in their own care journey. We are conducting research into the impact of the Self Portrait on children’s participation during medical consultations. In addition, we are studying how to best design the Self Portrait so that children are involved in their care process as effectively as possible.
Developing new outcome measures for brain disorders
Children, their parents, and healthcare providers often want to know at a young age how a child with a particular brain disorder will function later in life. By following children over time, we can investigate whether certain early life measurements can predict how a child will function later on. For example, we can examine whether brain waves measured at age five can tell us something about the development of academic skills at age ten. We also search for outcome measures that can be used to evaluate new treatments.
Gaining cross disorder knowledge
In the Child Brain Lab, we collect information from hundreds of children with different brain disorders, which results in a wealth of data. Using multimodal data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI), we search for patterns within these data, making all this information easier to understand. With the help of AI techniques, we can uncover valuable relationships and patterns in the large dataset. For example, are there test results that can tell us something about the future course of a disorder? Or are there measurements that can predict whether a treatment will be effective? These are the kinds of questions we hope to answer.
