"The soft, flexible, robotic probe could dramatically improve safety during fetal surgeries, procedures in which physicians operate on a fetus before birth. Currently, doctors primarily rely on intermittent measurements of fetal heart rate using ultrasound imaging from outside the pregnant person's body. The new device, on the other hand, can be gently inserted through the same narrow port already used in fetal surgeries."
"Once inside the uterus, the device maintains stable, gentle contact with the fetus to reliably track heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen levels and temperature. In studies on a large animal model, the probe provided accurate, precise, clinical-grade measurements even as the uterus and fetus moved during surgery. By tracking multiple vital signs simultaneously, surgeons gain a more complete and earlier picture of fetal distress, enabling faster interventions in case complications arise."
A soft, flexible, hair-like robotic probe tracks fetal heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen and temperature while inside the uterus. The probe is small enough to be inserted through the same narrow port used in fetal surgeries and maintains stable, gentle contact with the fetus during movement. In a large animal model the device produced accurate, precise, clinical-grade measurements despite uterine and fetal motion. Continuous, multi-parameter monitoring provides earlier and more complete detection of fetal distress, enabling faster surgical interventions. The platform represents the smallest system yet capable of clinical-grade in-utero vital sign monitoring.
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