Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a serious birth complication due to systemic asphyxia which occurs in about 20 of 1,000 full-term infants and nearly 60% of premature newborns. Between 10-60% of babies who exhibit HIE die during the newborn period and up to 25% of the HIE survivors have permanent neurodevelopmental handicaps in the form of cerebral palsy, mental retardation, learning disabilities, or epilepsy. HIE also has a significant financial impact on the health care system. In the state of Florida, the total cost for initial hospitalization is $161,000 per HIE patient admitted, but those costs don't take into account the life-long costs.