BLUEPRINT Study

Project status: Active

Research area: Clinical Sciences > Neonatal Research

Defining early life respiratory phenotypes to predict long-term outcomes of prematurity

The BLUEPRINT Study is a world-first, groundbreaking project led by researchers in Melbourne, Australia. It will follow 550 babies born prematurely (before 32 weeks of pregnancy) from birth until the age of two years old.

The study aims to understand how the lungs of premature babies function in the first week after birth, using advanced methods to closely examine their lung health. The goal is to help doctors identify the most effective treatments for each baby and provide better information to parents about their child's lung health as they grow.

Visit the BLUEPRINT Study website

The study aims to...

Visit the BLUEPRINT Study website

Why is this study important

Most preterm babies have trouble breathing shortly after birth because their lungs aren’t fully developed. As a result, many preterm babies need different treatments and machines to breathe properly in early life.

While doctors and nurses know which treatments work best for most babies, they don’t know which treatment will be best for each individual baby.

Premature abies also have a high risk of developing long-term (chronic) lung disease. We do not understand why some preterm babies develop chronic lung disease and others do not.

About the study

By understanding all the different factors that influence a baby’s lungs in the first few days of life, the BLUEPRINT Study hopes to predict the babies who are more at risk of future lung problems and come up with unique treatments for each baby.

The study aims to provide a more precise picture (phenotype) of how an individual preterm baby’s lungs are working in the first seven days after birth, and then how each baby’s lungs grow in childhood.

This will help clinicians understand what happens to a specific baby’s lungs during the normal clinical care given in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).