STTR Phase II: Accurate Fetal Health Monitoring During Labor and Delivery

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是推进一种创新的胎儿监测方法，该方法具有改善结局、降低成本和促进分娩期间公平获得优质护理的前景。该项目服务于几个关键利益攸关方的一致利益：患者，付款人，提供者和政策制定者，因为它将促进分娩过程中母亲和婴儿的安全，同时减少护理提供者不必要的干预。该项目预计将产生非常广泛的影响，因为安全分娩是一项社会健康要务，几乎涉及每个家庭，对社会经济背景较低的家庭的影响不成比例。其他更广泛的影响包括丰富学员在伙伴研究机构的教育经验，以及将联邦政府支持的基础研究转入市场。该小企业技术转让（STTR）第二阶段项目将建立在一种创新技术的基础上，用于无创、经腹测量胎儿动脉血氧饱和度（fSpO 2）。基本的工作原理是在怀孕母亲的腹部区域以两个特定的近红外波长照射光，然后感测母亲腹部上的少量漫散射光。脉动的胎儿血液中的氧合血红蛋白和脱氧血红蛋白的相对浓度调节胎儿组织的光吸收，导致感测到的光信号中的微弱图案。分析所感测的信号以检测这种模式，并推断fSpO 2。该项目的活动包括进一步修改设备原型，并与临床研究人员团队合作，以证明在试点患者研究中安全准确的经腹fSpO 2测量。该项目为长期影响患者护理提供了基础和支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project is to advance an innovative method of fetal monitoring, which has the prospect of improving outcomes, reducing cost, and promoting equitable access to quality care during childbirth. The project serves the aligned interest of several key stake holders: patients, payers, providers and policy makers, as it will promote the safety of both the mother and baby in the birth process, while reducing the need for unnecessary interventions by the care providers. The project is expected to have very broad impact as safe childbirth is a societal health imperative that touches virtually every family, and disproportionately impacts families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Other broader impacts include enrichment of trainees’ educational experience at the partner research institution, and transition of underlying federally-supported basic research into the marketplace. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will build on an innovative technology for non-invasive, transabdominal measurement of fetal arterial blood oxygen saturation (fSpO2). The underlying principle of operation is shining light in the abdominal area of the pregnant mother at two specific near infrared wavelengths, followed by sensing the small amount of diffusely-scattered light on the maternal abdomen. The relative concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the pulsating fetal blood regulates light absorption by the fetal tissue, resulting in a faint pattern in the sensed light signals. The sensed signals are analyzed to detect such patterns, and to infer fSpO2. The project activities include further revisions of the device prototype and collaboration with a team of clinical researchers to demonstrate safe and accurate transabdominal fSpO2 measurement in a pilot patient study. The project provides the foundation and support for impacting patient care in the longer term.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.