Towards BirthAlert-A Clinical Device Intended for Early Preterm Birth Detection

Preterm birth causes 1 million infant deaths worldwide every year, making it the leading cause of infant mortality. Existing diagnostic tests such as transvaginal ultrasound or fetal fibronectin either cannot determine if preterm birth will occur in the future or can only predict the occurrence once...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering 2013-12, Vol.60 (12), p.3484-3493
Main Authors: Etemadi, Mozziyar, Chung, Philip, Heller, J. Alex, Liu, Jonathan A., Rand, Larry, Roy, Shuvo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioimpedance
Biomedical measurement
bluetooth
Cervical Ripening - physiology
Cervix Uteri - physiology
Early Diagnosis
Electric Impedance
Electrodes
Female
Fluorescence
Humans
Impedance
Impedance measurement
Infant mortality
Obstetrics
Optical Imaging - methods
physiologic sensing
Pregnancy
Premature birth
Premature Birth - diagnosis
Probes
sensors
Softening
spectroscopy
Spectrum Analysis
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Summary:Preterm birth causes 1 million infant deaths worldwide every year, making it the leading cause of infant mortality. Existing diagnostic tests such as transvaginal ultrasound or fetal fibronectin either cannot determine if preterm birth will occur in the future or can only predict the occurrence once cervical shortening has begun, at which point it is too late to reverse the accelerated parturition process. Using iterative and rapid prototyping techniques, we have developed an intravaginal proof-of-concept device that measures both cervical bioimpedance and cervical fluorescence to characterize microstructural changes in a pregnant woman's cervix in hopes of detecting preterm birth before macroscopic changes manifest in the tissue. If successful, such an early alert during this "silent phase" of the preterm birth syndrome may open a new window of opportunity for interventions that may reverse and avoid preterm birth altogether.
ISSN:0018-9294
1558-2531
DOI:10.1109/TBME.2013.2272601