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Neuroimaging
Published in Sarah McWilliams, Practical Radiological Anatomy, 2011
o Fontanelles: the posterior fontanelle closes by 3 months and the anterior fontanelle by 18 months (Fig. 1.6). This is used for access to cranial ultrasound. The sutures and fontanelles are important to assess in a newborn to identify premature closing or widening that suggests raised intracranial pressure.
Medical devices and the pediatric population – a head-to-toe approach
Published in Expert Review of Medical Devices, 2019
Joy H. Samuels-Reid, Judith U. Cope
The head is large relative to the body in infants and young children. The skull is thinner and more flexible. This requires different types of considerations for the pediatric population and age-appropriate medical devices. Head circumference is a significant metric in assessing growth and development of the neonate and infant and is measured across the frontal-occipital prominence, the area of greatest diameter. While head circumference is an indicator for growth and development in the pediatric population, it is not in adults. It is tracked on growth charts during pediatric exams from birth through the first few years. Newborns have greater brain weights in proportion to body weight. The anterior and posterior fontanelles close at different times: the anterior fontanelle is the last to close between 1 to 3 years (the median time is about 13.8 months) and the posterior closes 2–3 months after birth. Depressed fontanelles may indicate dehydration, while bulging fontanelles may indicate swelling in the brain [6]. Early closure of fontanelles may lead to microcephaly, misshapen head and delay in closure may signal hydrocephalus. Cranial sutures close at different rates. It is important that use of devices take into consideration the status of cranial sutures and the stage of growth and development of the skull. If sutures close prematurely, they result in craniosynostosis [7]. Devices such as cranial helmets are often used to correct positional head deformity such as plagiocephaly.