special feature
UC Davis lab develops fetal oximetry device to prevent unnecessary c-sections special editorial submitted by friends steward partner, uc davis 18
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Fetal hypoxia, a condition that occurs when the fetus is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen, is one reason obstetricians may perform a Caesarean section (C-section). Currently, obstetricians use electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) during labor and delivery to assess fetal well-being. As of 2016, data published in Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology showed that 30% of babies delivered in hospitals in the U.S. are detected as potentially hypoxic, but 60% of those detections are false alarms that can lead to unnecessary C-sections. UC Davis electrical and computer engineering professor Soheil Ghiasi's lab has built a specialized device to measure a baby’s blood oxygen saturation levels non-invasively. It’s called a transabdominal fetal pulse oximeter (TFO.) A new father himself, Ghiasi says the birth of his young daughter inspired this research. The workis supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. Ghiasi expects this technology wil be adopted by many medical facilities worldwide. "From my observations, nurses and obstetricians are well-trained on how to use fetal monitoring devices, and this is something to which they can easily adapt,” Ghiasi said. “Placing TFO on the abdomen is similar to placing ultrasound transducers currently used for fetal monitoring
