Doctor Uses Animal Scanner on Infants

DETROIT (AP) - A scanning device designed for use on small animals undergoing tests in research labs is helping a Detroit neurologist detect brain disease in human infants.

Dr. Harry Chugani of Detroit's Hutzel Hospital has started using the device, which is about the size of a small refrigerator, to map out the chemicals in the brains of babies weighing as little as 2 pounds.

The process, called micro positron emissions tomography (PET), had long been used only on animals. A larger version of the micro PET scanner is used on adults and children but is imprecise when used on infants, The Detroit News reported in a Sunday story.

Chugani spent years conducting animal research at the University of California-Los Angeles.

"I said to myself, 'A monkey is about the same size as a newborn, why don't I stick one of these machines in the nursery?''' said Chugani, now director of the PET Center at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

With approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the doctor acquired one of the machines and has used it to run tests on about 30 infants since late last year.

He said the tests allow doctors to pinpoint problems that can show the source of epileptic seizures or signs of cerebral palsy and other brain diseases. The hospital cannot charge for the tests because using the scanner is experimental.

"We can do a scan and try to see what's in store for them,'' Chugani said.

Chugani said doctors have operated on one epileptic baby based on scan results. He also hopes to use the machine to study and predict mental illnesses and learn more about how infant brains heal.

Doctors hope machines such as the micro PET scanner will help unlock new forms of infant brain disease treatment and detection.

"No one can tell parents what will happen for sure,'' Chugani said. "But this way we can tell them: 'This is what to expect. Pay attention.'''

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