Simultaneous fetal echocardiography /magnetocardiography

描述（由申请人提供）： 该基金旨在开发更好的方法来表征胎儿宫内临床状况的危及生命的心律失常，获得性心力衰竭和结构性先天性心脏病。我们假设，胎儿心电图fECG和心磁图（fMCG）记录与超声心动图和多普勒（回声/多普勒）的直接同步比较，将增强当前回声/多普勒识别胎儿危及生命的心脏并发症风险的能力。胎儿的电生理和机械相互作用在很大程度上是未经研究的。在成人心律失常和心肌病患者中，机电功能障碍可导致心脏重塑、心力衰竭和不良临床结局。使用胎儿心电图监测结合回声/多普勒，我们建议记录同步和同时测量5-10个健康孕妇，以证明回声/多普勒和fMCG是兼容的技术。这一初步工作是验证超声心动图定量技术的先决条件，该技术尚未通过胎儿心脏信号进行验证。 在第一阶段，我们打算展示同时进行SQUID磁力测量和超声测量的能力。然后，我们将确定需要对SQUID或超声电子器件进行哪些修改（如果有的话），以设计能够在临床环境中用于胎儿心动图的商业原型组合仪器。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This grant aims to develop better methods of characterizing the intrauterine clinical condition of fetuses with life-threatening arrhythmias, acquired heart failure, and structural congenital heart disease. We hypothesize that direct simultaneous comparison of fetal electrocardiographic fECG and magnetocardiographic (fMCG) recordings in conjunction with Echocardiography and Doppler (echo/Doppler), will enhance current echo/Doppler capabilities of recognizing the fetus at risk of life-threatening cardiac complications. Electrophysiological and mechanical interactions in the fetus are largely unstudied. It is accepted that electromechanical dysfunction contributes to cardiac remodeling, cardiac failure, and adverse clinical outcomes in adult arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy patients. Using fetal cardiogram monitoring in conjunction with echo/Doppler, we propose to record synchronized and simultaneous measurements in 5-10 healthy pregnant women to prove that echo/Doppler and fMCG are compatible techniques. This preliminary work is a prerequisite to validation of echocardiographic quantitative techniques, which have not been validated with the fetal cardiac signal. In Phase I, we intend to demonstrate the ability to take SQUID magnetometry and ultrasound measurements simultaneously. We will then determine what, if any, modifications need to be made to either the SQUID or ultrasound electronics to design a commercial prototype combined instrument capable of being used for fetal cardiography in a clinical setting.