The study is one of the first tests of a new device designed to study maternal and fetal physiology, including fetal brain activity, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) of the womb. It also is the first MEG study to use light, rather than pulses of sound, to stimulate the fetus.
"Though this work is preliminary, it is a promising indication of how MEG may help researchers understand the fetal brain," says Giovanna Spinella, M.D., a pediatric neurologist at NINDS.
The new device, called SARA, was conceptualized by Curtis L. Lowery, M.D., of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and developed by CTF Systems Inc., of Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. NINDS helped to fund development of the device, which is the first of its kind in the world. SARA stands for SQUID Array for Reproductive Assessment. SQUID is an acronym for Superconducting Quantum Interference Device, a method developed to detect tiny fluctuations in magnetic fields using a superconductor cooled by liquid helium.
Previous studies have shown that maternal hypertension, diabetes, pregnancy with two or more babies at once, and many other conditions can lead to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) that can damage the fetal brain. Prenatal infections, smoking, and other problems also can interfere with normal brain development. Structural problems
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Contact: Natalie Frazin, Paul Girolami
301-496-5751
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
5-Sep-2002