Children Needed for New Research Study: AIM-HIGH Feasibility Study

The AIM-HIGH Feasibility Study is a research study at the INFANT Research Centre at University College Cork(UCC) and Cork University Maternity Hospital(CUMH). Researchers at INFANT, UCC are looking for healthy infants aged 15 – 18 weeks old to take part in this study.

Express Interest here: https://forms.office.com/e/ZzAkScCcDG

What is the Study?

After birth, a baby’s brain develops rapidly and begins to respond to the world around it. One of the earliest signs of normal brain development is when a baby begins to fix and follow objects and faces, begins to smile and coo. We believe that having careful measurement of this early interaction can help us to predict normal development and help us to predict abnormal development in high-risk infants.

The aim is to develop a simplified novel test that looks at early eye movements (gaze or fixing and following).

The project is supervised by clinical consultants from University College Cork, Cork University Hospital, and INFANT Research Centre.

Who is it for?

Healthy infants aged 15 – 18 weeks old who have no known developmental issues. Children are eligible if they were born after 37 weeks gestation and were not admitted to the neonatal unit within 12 hours of birth.

What do I need to do?

Attend one visit to conduct two simple eye-based assessments at the INFANT Research Centre, Cork University Hospital. The visit will be approx. 30minutes in total.

(1)Eye Gaze Fixation(2)Visual Evoked Potentials

Both assessments are painless and will not distress your infant.

Why is this study being done?

By conducting these tests, we hope to gain information on how to optimise eye-related assessments in very young infants.

What are the benefits and risks of participating in this study?

Help inform the research process and design
Opportunity to enrol in the full AIM-HIGH study which will assess your child’s vision, cognitive and behavioural development
Expedient referral to appropriate services if necessary

What will happen to the results of this study?

The results of this study will be published in academic journals and presented at scientific meetings. You will never be identified individually during these presentations or any reports or publications. To ensure confidentiality, the data generated during this study is coded with a unique Study ID Number that will be allocated once your child is recruited to the study.

UCC is the study’s Sponsor and will act as the data controller for this study. Any personal data which you provide to the University will be treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, in accordance with Irish and European Data Protection legislation.