Objective Most of neonatal cerebral function monitors are designed based on single-lead electroencephalography (EEG) for long-time monitoring. The existing neonatal cerebral function monitors acquire the amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG) with analog circuits, which are heavy, expensive, and seldom used in China. To improve the portability and reduce the cost of the instrument, a digitalized neonatal cerebral function monitor is developed. Methods The single-lead EEG was acquired by an EEG amplifier module with impedance detecting function. An embedded system based on dual-core embedded processer OMAP-L137 was designed to carry out the real-time computation and display of aEEG and sample entropy (SampEn), to realize the user interface control and patient information management. Results This neonatal cerebral function monitor detected aEEG and SampEn simultaneously, and then provided an objective and quantitative evaluation on neonatal cerebral function. Conclusions The aEEG acquired by the digitalized neonatal cerebral function monitor is in accord with the results of existing equipments. SampEn is a new and reliable criterion of EEG and the monitor presents neonatal cerebral function more comprehensively.
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