{"id":50596,"date":"2024-12-06T11:10:07","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T16:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/?post_type=news&p=50596"},"modified":"2025-09-17T13:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T17:19:54","slug":"lighting-the-way-to-better-infant-heart-health","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/lighting-the-way-to-better-infant-heart-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Lighting the way to better infant heart health"},"content":{"rendered":"

A master’s student in Applied Mathematics and Statistics at the Whiting School of Engineering is part of a team developing Miraheart,<\/a> an innovative non-invasive device to monitor infants\u2019 heart activity using light sensors. Adrian Severino is refining the device\u2019s light emission system to improve its ability to detect early signs of congestive heart failure.<\/p>\n

The Miraheart project, which originated in the Department of Biomedical Engineering\u2019s Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design<\/a> (CBID) program, uses non-invasive photoplethysmography (PPG) technology to track heart activity and assess central venous pressure (CVP) in infants and children with heart defects. This enables parents to monitor their baby\u2019s health at home shortly after birth. The team won the Southwest National Pediatric Device Consortium\u2019s $25,000 Pediatric Device Prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition last May and took third place at the Heartland Challenge Startup Competition, held last April at the University of Arkansas. <\/span><\/p>\n

Severino joined the team to use mathematical modeling to de-risk and assess the technology\u2019s feasibility before significant time and money were invested in developing a prototype, according to <\/span>Danielle Gottlieb Sen<\/a>, project lead and a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Johns Hopkins University.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving Adrian on board as our math expert has been incredibly valuable\u2014his work was essential in identifying the shortcomings of the technology we initially selected for our clinical needs, ultimately leading us to change direction,\u201d Sen said.<\/p>\n

Severino is modeling how light travels through tissue, focusing on how it moves through a 3D model of an infant\u2019s neck and interacts with the internal jugular vein (IJV)\u2014a major blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the brain, face, and neck back to the heart\u2014a region not extensively studied in this context. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe aim to understand how efficiently our device detects and measures light that reaches the interior jugular vein,” he said, emphasizing the vein’s critical role in assessing a baby’s heart condition.<\/p>\n

The device\u2019s innovative design uses LED emitters and precise detectors to measure how much \"\"light passes through the baby\u2019s tissue and returns. It translates this data into a special wave pattern called a photoplethysmography or PPG waveform, that provides crucial information about blood pressure in the central veins. This reading helps parents and physicians monitor how well the heart is pumping blood.<\/p>\n

To optimize how the device captures this important information, Severino is using Monte Carlo simulations, a statistical method that models random processes to understand complex systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy simulating light particles, as they travel through various tissue layers, we can estimate how much light reaches the target area and returns to the detector, offering a powerful tool for predicting photon behavior as it interacts with biological structures,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another crucial aspect of the team\u2019s work involves determining the optimal placement of the device\u2019s sensors on the baby\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the sensor and the light emitter are positioned too closely together, we risk detecting stray light that hasn\u2019t interacted with the target vein, which is crucial,\u201d Severino said.<\/p>\n

In the initial round of testing, the team discovered that the sensor detected only 1.5% of the emitted light passing through the tissue. This weak signal highlighted the need to enhance the tissue’s light transmission and increase the intensity of the light source for more accurate results.<\/p>\n

By adjusting the placement of the light source directly beneath the target area, they improved the focus of the light, increasing its interaction with the internal jugular vein while reducing scattering. Severino said that this adjustment significantly enhanced the device\u2019s accuracy and reliability in monitoring central venous pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach simulation run and challenge I encountered deepened my understanding of applied mathematics and brought me closer to the goal of leveraging technology to make a difference in infant health care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The project is supervised by Dan Naiman<\/a>, professor and associate head of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, <\/span>Youseph Yazdi<\/a><\/span>, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and executive director of the Center for Bioengineering Innovation and Design, and <\/span>Danielle Gottlieb Sen, Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon at Johns Hopkins University.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-50596","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-applied-mathematics","news_categories-research","news_categories-student-experience"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLighting the way to better infant heart health | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/lighting-the-way-to-better-infant-heart-health\/\" \/>\n<meta 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