Transvaginal probe for fetal magnetocardiography

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to develop an instrument for transvaginal fetal cardiac and brain electromagnetic activity at gestations younger than what can be achieved using present technology of transabdomenal fetal signal recording. Recording minute magnetic signals in the fetus is impossible at gestations earlier than 15 weeks using existing technology and is unreliable using standard technology at gestations less than 20-24 weeks, and at any gestation in an obese patient. The proximity of the vagina to the uterus makes this an ideal approach for the obese patient or the early to mid pregnancy. While transvaginal ultrasound has been employed, it alone cannot detect heart conduction abnormalities, because it only assesses mechanical events, and not the electrical events that lead up to the mechanical events. In addition, present technology is large and bulky, generally suspended from a ceiling mount device and covering roughly the diameter of the full-term maternal gravid abdomen. It is anticipated that a transvaginal SQUID probe would obtain signals from fetuses as small as 10- 12 weeks gestation, in conjunction with magnetic shielding. The advantage over present fetal magnetic recording technologies is that it allows more proximate access to the very immature fetus, and unique recording angles, which are superior for signal acquisition. The magnetic signal has been shown to be far superior to the electric signal for fetal cardiac recording due to the characteristics of fetal/maternal tissue and fluid transmission properties.