UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings

Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nu...

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Main Authors: F. Abate, A. Adu-Amankwah, KA Ae-Ngibise, F Agbokey, VA Agyemang, CT Agyemang, C. Akgun, J. Ametepe, T. Arichi, KP Asante, S. Balaji, L. Baljer, PJ Basser, J. Beauchemin, C. Bennallick, Y. Berhane, Y. Boateng-Mensah, NJ Bourke, L. Bradford, MMK Bruchhage, R.Cano Lorente, P. Cawley, M. Cercignani, V. D Sa, A.de Canha, N.de Navarro, DC Dean, III, J. Delarosa, KA Donald, A. Dvorak, AD Edwards, D. Field, H. Frail, B. Freeman, T. George, J. Gholam, J. Guerrero-Gonzalez, JV Hajnal, R. Haque, W. Hollander, Z. Hoodbhoy, M. Huentelman, SK Jafri, DK Jones, F. Joubert, T. Karaulanov, MP Kasaro, S. Knackstedt, S. Kolind, B. Koshy, R. Kravitz, S.Lecurieux Lafayette, AC Lee, B. Lena, N. Lepore, M. Linguraru, E. Ljungberg, Z. Lockart, E. Loth, P. Mannam, KM Masemola, R. Moran, D. Murphy, FL Nakwa, V. Nankabirwa, CA Nelson, K. North, S. Nyame, R. O Halloran, J. O'Muircheartaigh, BF Oakley, H. Odendaal, CM Ongeti, D. Onyango, SA Oppong, F. Padormo, D. Parvez, T. Paus, MS Pepper, KS Phiri, M. Poorman, JE Ringshaw, J. Rogers, M. Rutherford, H. Sabir, L. Sacolick, M. Seal, ML Sekoli, T. Shama, K. Siddiqui, N. Sindano, MB Spelke, PE Springer, FE Suleman, PC Sundgren, R. Teixeira, W. Terekegn, M. Traughber, MG Tuuli, J.van Rensburg, F. Váša, S. Velaphi, P. Velasco, IM Viljoen, M. Vokhiwa, A. Webb, C. Weiant, N. Wiley, P. Wintermark, K. Yibetal, SCL Deoni, SCR Williams
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-10-01
Series:Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000586
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author F. Abate
A. Adu-Amankwah
KA Ae-Ngibise
F Agbokey
VA Agyemang
CT Agyemang
C. Akgun
J. Ametepe
T. Arichi
KP Asante
S. Balaji
L. Baljer
PJ Basser
J. Beauchemin
C. Bennallick
Y. Berhane
Y. Boateng-Mensah
NJ Bourke
L. Bradford
MMK Bruchhage
R.Cano Lorente
P. Cawley
M. Cercignani
V. D Sa
A.de Canha
N.de Navarro
DC Dean, III
J. Delarosa
KA Donald
A. Dvorak
AD Edwards
D. Field
H. Frail
B. Freeman
T. George
J. Gholam
J. Guerrero-Gonzalez
JV Hajnal
R. Haque
W. Hollander
Z. Hoodbhoy
M. Huentelman
SK Jafri
DK Jones
F. Joubert
T. Karaulanov
MP Kasaro
S. Knackstedt
S. Kolind
B. Koshy
R. Kravitz
S.Lecurieux Lafayette
AC Lee
B. Lena
N. Lepore
M. Linguraru
E. Ljungberg
Z. Lockart
E. Loth
P. Mannam
KM Masemola
R. Moran
D. Murphy
FL Nakwa
V. Nankabirwa
CA Nelson
K. North
S. Nyame
R. O Halloran
J. O'Muircheartaigh
BF Oakley
H. Odendaal
CM Ongeti
D. Onyango
SA Oppong
F. Padormo
D. Parvez
T. Paus
MS Pepper
KS Phiri
M. Poorman
JE Ringshaw
J. Rogers
M. Rutherford
H. Sabir
L. Sacolick
M. Seal
ML Sekoli
T. Shama
K. Siddiqui
N. Sindano
MB Spelke
PE Springer
FE Suleman
PC Sundgren
R. Teixeira
W. Terekegn
M. Traughber
MG Tuuli
J.van Rensburg
F. Váša
S. Velaphi
P. Velasco
IM Viljoen
M. Vokhiwa
A. Webb
C. Weiant
N. Wiley
P. Wintermark
K. Yibetal
SCL Deoni
SCR Williams
author_facet F. Abate
A. Adu-Amankwah
KA Ae-Ngibise
F Agbokey
VA Agyemang
CT Agyemang
C. Akgun
J. Ametepe
T. Arichi
KP Asante
S. Balaji
L. Baljer
PJ Basser
J. Beauchemin
C. Bennallick
Y. Berhane
Y. Boateng-Mensah
NJ Bourke
L. Bradford
MMK Bruchhage
R.Cano Lorente
P. Cawley
M. Cercignani
V. D Sa
A.de Canha
N.de Navarro
DC Dean, III
J. Delarosa
KA Donald
A. Dvorak
AD Edwards
D. Field
H. Frail
B. Freeman
T. George
J. Gholam
J. Guerrero-Gonzalez
JV Hajnal
R. Haque
W. Hollander
Z. Hoodbhoy
M. Huentelman
SK Jafri
DK Jones
F. Joubert
T. Karaulanov
MP Kasaro
S. Knackstedt
S. Kolind
B. Koshy
R. Kravitz
S.Lecurieux Lafayette
AC Lee
B. Lena
N. Lepore
M. Linguraru
E. Ljungberg
Z. Lockart
E. Loth
P. Mannam
KM Masemola
R. Moran
D. Murphy
FL Nakwa
V. Nankabirwa
CA Nelson
K. North
S. Nyame
R. O Halloran
J. O'Muircheartaigh
BF Oakley
H. Odendaal
CM Ongeti
D. Onyango
SA Oppong
F. Padormo
D. Parvez
T. Paus
MS Pepper
KS Phiri
M. Poorman
JE Ringshaw
J. Rogers
M. Rutherford
H. Sabir
L. Sacolick
M. Seal
ML Sekoli
T. Shama
K. Siddiqui
N. Sindano
MB Spelke
PE Springer
FE Suleman
PC Sundgren
R. Teixeira
W. Terekegn
M. Traughber
MG Tuuli
J.van Rensburg
F. Váša
S. Velaphi
P. Velasco
IM Viljoen
M. Vokhiwa
A. Webb
C. Weiant
N. Wiley
P. Wintermark
K. Yibetal
SCL Deoni
SCR Williams
author_sort F. Abate
collection DOAJ
description Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child’s life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
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series Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
spelling doaj-art-c765e19e6dd449daa75f336a3cfcd19c2025-08-20T01:55:21ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932024-10-016910139710.1016/j.dcn.2024.101397UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settingsF. Abate0A. Adu-Amankwah1KA Ae-Ngibise2F Agbokey3VA Agyemang4CT Agyemang5C. Akgun6J. Ametepe7T. Arichi8KP Asante9S. Balaji10L. Baljer11PJ Basser12J. Beauchemin13C. Bennallick14Y. Berhane15Y. Boateng-Mensah16NJ Bourke17L. Bradford18MMK Bruchhage19R.Cano Lorente20P. Cawley21M. Cercignani22V. D Sa23A.de Canha24N.de Navarro25DC Dean, III26J. Delarosa27KA Donald28A. Dvorak29AD Edwards30D. Field31H. Frail32B. Freeman33T. George34J. Gholam35J. Guerrero-Gonzalez36JV Hajnal37R. Haque38W. Hollander39Z. Hoodbhoy40M. Huentelman41SK Jafri42DK Jones43F. Joubert44T. Karaulanov45MP Kasaro46S. Knackstedt47S. Kolind48B. Koshy49R. Kravitz50S.Lecurieux Lafayette51AC Lee52B. Lena53N. Lepore54M. Linguraru55E. Ljungberg56Z. Lockart57E. Loth58P. Mannam59KM Masemola60R. Moran61D. Murphy62FL Nakwa63V. Nankabirwa64CA Nelson65K. North66S. Nyame67R. O Halloran68J. O'Muircheartaigh69BF Oakley70H. Odendaal71CM Ongeti72D. Onyango73SA Oppong74F. Padormo75D. Parvez76T. Paus77MS Pepper78KS Phiri79M. Poorman80JE Ringshaw81J. Rogers82M. Rutherford83H. Sabir84L. Sacolick85M. Seal86ML Sekoli87T. Shama88K. Siddiqui89N. Sindano90MB Spelke91PE Springer92FE Suleman93PC Sundgren94R. Teixeira95W. Terekegn96M. Traughber97MG Tuuli98J.van Rensburg99F. Váša100S. Velaphi101P. Velasco102IM Viljoen103M. Vokhiwa104A. Webb105C. Weiant106N. Wiley107P. Wintermark108K. Yibetal109SCL Deoni110SCR Williams111Addis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKorle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAflywheel.io Minneapolis, MN, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USANational Institutes of Health, Washington, DC, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAdvanced Baby Imaging Lab, Providence, RI, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAddis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKorle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and the Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Psychology, Stavanger University, Norway; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAdvanced Baby Imaging Lab, Providence, RI, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAdvanced Baby Imaging Lab, Providence, RI, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInstitute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACollective Minds Radiology, Sweden; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USASchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAPATH, Seattle, WA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and the Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACollective Minds Radiology, Sweden; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAUniversity of North Carolina, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chapel Hill, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, University; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USASchool of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInternational Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (Icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACaliberMRI, Boulder CO USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USATGen, Phoenix, AZ, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Pediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Genetics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACaliberMRI, Boulder CO USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAUniversity of North Carolina – Global Projects Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAPATH, Seattle, WA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADevelopmental Paediatrics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInternational Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, San Fransisco, CA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USABrigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics; Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Radiology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USASheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAMedical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopemental Science, Institute of Psychatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADevelopmental Paediatrics, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Kalafong Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopemental Science, Institute of Psychatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Makerere University. Kampala, Uganda; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USALaboratories of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Developmental Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USABrigham and Women’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics; Harvard Medical School; Boston, MA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKintampo Health Research Centre, Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, Kintampo North Municipality, Bono East Region, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Forensic and Neurodevelopemental Science, Institute of Psychatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept Obstet Gynaecol, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAJaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu, Kenya; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAJaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu, Kenya; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAKorle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACollective Minds Radiology, Sweden; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInstitute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USATraining and Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE), Zomba Malawi; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADivision of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and the Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for the Developing Brain, Kings College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAExperimental Neonatology, University Hospitals Bonn, Bonn, Germany; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAMurdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, AUS; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInstitute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInternational Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (Icddr,b), Dhaka, Bangladesh; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAUniversity of North Carolina – Global Projects Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAUniversity of North Carolina, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chapel Hill, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kalafong Hospital, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USASection of Diagnostic Radiology,Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAddis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAHyperfine.io, Guilford, CT, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAJaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kisumu, Kenya; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAInstitute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Department of Medical Immunology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAflywheel.io Minneapolis, MN, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADepartment of Radiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, University; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USATraining and Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE), Zomba Malawi; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Radiology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACaliberMRI, Boulder CO USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADept. of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USADivision of Newborn Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USAAddis Continental Institute of Public Health, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USABill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, MNCH D&T, Seattle, WA, USA; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USACentre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; Waisman Research Center, Madison, WI, USA; Corresponding author at: Centre for Neuroimaging Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK.Measures of physical growth, such as weight and height have long been the predominant outcomes for monitoring child health and evaluating interventional outcomes in public health studies, including those that may impact neurodevelopment. While physical growth generally reflects overall health and nutritional status, it lacks sensitivity and specificity to brain growth and developing cognitive skills and abilities. Psychometric tools, e.g., the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, may afford more direct assessment of cognitive development but they require language translation, cultural adaptation, and population norming. Further, they are not always reliable predictors of future outcomes when assessed within the first 12–18 months of a child’s life. Neuroimaging may provide more objective, sensitive, and predictive measures of neurodevelopment but tools such as magnetic resonance (MR) imaging are not readily available in many low and middle-income countries (LMICs). MRI systems that operate at lower magnetic fields (< 100mT) may offer increased accessibility, but their use for global health studies remains nascent. The UNITY project is envisaged as a global partnership to advance neuroimaging in global health studies. Here we describe the UNITY project, its goals, methods, operating procedures, and expected outcomes in characterizing neurodevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000586NeurodevelopmentChild HealthGlobal HealthHealthy DevelopmentEnvironmental AdversityLow Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging
spellingShingle F. Abate
A. Adu-Amankwah
KA Ae-Ngibise
F Agbokey
VA Agyemang
CT Agyemang
C. Akgun
J. Ametepe
T. Arichi
KP Asante
S. Balaji
L. Baljer
PJ Basser
J. Beauchemin
C. Bennallick
Y. Berhane
Y. Boateng-Mensah
NJ Bourke
L. Bradford
MMK Bruchhage
R.Cano Lorente
P. Cawley
M. Cercignani
V. D Sa
A.de Canha
N.de Navarro
DC Dean, III
J. Delarosa
KA Donald
A. Dvorak
AD Edwards
D. Field
H. Frail
B. Freeman
T. George
J. Gholam
J. Guerrero-Gonzalez
JV Hajnal
R. Haque
W. Hollander
Z. Hoodbhoy
M. Huentelman
SK Jafri
DK Jones
F. Joubert
T. Karaulanov
MP Kasaro
S. Knackstedt
S. Kolind
B. Koshy
R. Kravitz
S.Lecurieux Lafayette
AC Lee
B. Lena
N. Lepore
M. Linguraru
E. Ljungberg
Z. Lockart
E. Loth
P. Mannam
KM Masemola
R. Moran
D. Murphy
FL Nakwa
V. Nankabirwa
CA Nelson
K. North
S. Nyame
R. O Halloran
J. O'Muircheartaigh
BF Oakley
H. Odendaal
CM Ongeti
D. Onyango
SA Oppong
F. Padormo
D. Parvez
T. Paus
MS Pepper
KS Phiri
M. Poorman
JE Ringshaw
J. Rogers
M. Rutherford
H. Sabir
L. Sacolick
M. Seal
ML Sekoli
T. Shama
K. Siddiqui
N. Sindano
MB Spelke
PE Springer
FE Suleman
PC Sundgren
R. Teixeira
W. Terekegn
M. Traughber
MG Tuuli
J.van Rensburg
F. Váša
S. Velaphi
P. Velasco
IM Viljoen
M. Vokhiwa
A. Webb
C. Weiant
N. Wiley
P. Wintermark
K. Yibetal
SCL Deoni
SCR Williams
UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Neurodevelopment
Child Health
Global Health
Healthy Development
Environmental Adversity
Low Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging
title UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
title_full UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
title_fullStr UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
title_full_unstemmed UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
title_short UNITY: A low-field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle-income settings
title_sort unity a low field magnetic resonance neuroimaging initiative to characterize neurodevelopment in low and middle income settings
topic Neurodevelopment
Child Health
Global Health
Healthy Development
Environmental Adversity
Low Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929324000586
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