ISOTT — Meetings of the International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue

Oxygen and Life are often considered as synonyms. Oxygen is necessary for our cells to produce the energy to survive. Many organs of our body to function require energy and hence need oxygen. Most important our brain, the neurons in our cerebral cortex, our grey matter, require energy and hence oxygen, to produce electrical activity and allow us to move our muscles and produce thoughts. Oxygen carried by haemoglobin needs to reach the specific functioning areas in our brain to enable energy production via our mitochondrial and to drive neuron electrical generation. Tracking oxygen distribution in the brain allow us to monitor and image brain function, enabling us to understand the mechanisms of cognitive processes. Disturbances in delivering oxygen in our brain due to trauma such as brain injury or cardiovascular disorders such as stroke and cardiac arrest can have severe effects in our brain function. In addition, sustained oxygen availability to our brain is important for brain growth and normal healthy neurodevelopment; oxygen feeds newborn brains towards healthy function and brain maturity.

Topics: Oxygen Transport, Physiology, Metabolism, Biomedical Engineering, Medical Sciences