It’s not uncommon for infants to have a misshapen head, and often these skull deformities are caused by the baby’s position in the womb or when they pass through the birth canal during delivery. But in rare cases, it is caused by one or more bones of the skull fusing too early. This condition, called craniosynostosis, can restrict the brain’s ability to grow and can result in developmental and cognitive delays, seizures, blindness, or even death. Surgery can correct craniosynostosis, but early identification is critical as the surgery is far less invasive if it is done in an infant under 5 months of age.
“The issue is that many primary care providers are not confident in identifying the subtle variations in head shape differences to reliably identify craniosynostosis,” explained Daniel Cho, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery who specializes in the treatment of infants and children with birth defects that affect the head and skull. “This delays the referral of patients with craniosynostosis to specialty care, often requiring them to have a much more extensive surgery – which also increases the postoperative complications and risks the infant could face.”
After Cho developed a local outreach program for pediatricians that successfully reduced the average age of infants with skull deformities who are referred to the Craniosynostosis Clinic at American Family Children’s Hospital from 8.6 months to 3 months, he saw an opportunity to further improve and automate infant screening for craniosynostosis by developing a mobile application. With a new one-year State Economic Engagement & Development (SEED) fund grant from UW’s Discovery to Product (D2P), Cho’s research team will develop and validate this app, called CranioSure. The app will screen the head shapes of infants during a primary care clinical visit to distinguish between benign head shape differences that will resolve on their own from more serious conditions like craniosynostosis, which require referral and intervention. When concerns are identified, the app will also facilitate identification of the closest American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association-approved clinic to which the patient can be referred.
“CranioSure will be a low-cost, easy-to-use application for pediatric primary care providers that reduces the need, cost, and risks associated with unnecessary referrals and diagnostic CT scans. It will also improve our ability to intervene early and improve outcomes for infants with craniosynostosis and other head shape differences,” said Cho. “In addition, the technology will be easily accessible to clinicians in all settings, whether urban or rural, in large medical centers or small community-based clinics. D2P has been incredibly supportive of our work on CranioSure, and we’re thrilled to work with them on improving health equity and access to high quality craniofacial care by bringing our product to the marketplace.” More information about CranioSure is available at www.CranioSure.com.
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SEED funds are administered by UW’s Discovery to Product (D2P), a partnership program between the university and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that is focused on transforming campus-based innovations into commercialized products and services that can benefit the public. The fund provides support to UW-Madison faculty and academic staff who have ownership in a Wisconsin-based high-growth start-up or emerging growth company that allows them to engage in innovative research, generate additional private and public sector support for their research programs, and promote technology transfer between the University and industry.