Non-invasive transabdominal measurement of placental oxygenation: a step toward continuous monitoring

Thien Nguyen; Kosar Khaksari; Siddharth M Khare; Soongho Park; Afrouz A Anderson; Janine Bieda; Eunjung Jung; Chaur-Dong Hsu; Roberto Romero; Amir H Gandjbakhche

doi:10.1364/BOE.424969

Non-invasive transabdominal measurement of placental oxygenation: a step toward continuous monitoring

Biomed Opt Express. 2021 Jun 15;12(7):4119-4130. doi: 10.1364/BOE.424969. eCollection 2021 Jul 1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA.
² Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University, 3990 John R. Street, Box 158, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
³ Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Bethesda, Maryland, 20814 and Detroit, Michigan 48201, USA.

Abstract

This study aimed to assess transabdominal placental oxygenation levels non-invasively. A wearable device was designed and tested in 12 pregnant women with an anterior placenta, 5 of whom had maternal pregnancy complications. Preliminary results revealed that the placental oxygenation level is closely related to pregnancy complications and placental pathology. Women with maternal pregnancy complications were found to have a lower placental oxygenation level (69.4% ± 6.7%) than those with uncomplicated pregnancy (75.0% ± 5.8%). This device is a step in the development of a point-of-care method designed to continuously monitor placental oxygenation and to assess maternal and fetal health.