Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Assessment of left ventricular pre-ejection period in the fetus using simultaneous magnetocardiography and
Nana Aba Mensah-Brown1, Ronald T Wakai, Bageshree Cheulkar
1Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
Introduction:
Fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) is a promising new technique for assessing fetal rhythm; however, no prior studies have utilized fMCG to evaluate human fetal electromechanical physiology. Pre-ejection period (PEP) is an important measure of the electromechanical activation of the heart, and is altered by disease states and arrhythmias.
Materials And Methods:
A novel technique was used to assess fetal PEP and its relationship to other fetal systolic time intervals, RR interval, and gestational age (GA). 25 normal human fetuses between 19 and 38 weeks' gestation were studied using simultaneous pulsed Doppler ultrasound and fMCG. Correlations among PEP, ejection time, QRS width and RR interval were assessed using linear regression.
Results:
Across all subjects, PEP was found to correlate with GA (R = 0.57, p < 0.0001), QRS width (R = 0.35, p = 0.026), and RR interval (R = 0.37, p = 0.018). In individual sessions, PEP negatively correlated beat-to-beat with the preceding RR interval.
Conclusion:
PEP exhibits developmental trends that provide a better understanding of the normal development of the human fetal heart.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System II:Types of Echocardiography
Types of Echocardiography
Transthoracic Echocardiography (TTE)
TTE is the most common type of echocardiogram which involves placing a transducer on the patient's chest, emitting sound waves to create heart images. TTE is invaluable for evaluating the heart's size, structure, and motion, making it particularly useful for diagnosing...
01:17Imaging Studies for Cardiovascular System I:Echocardiography
Indications: Echocardiography is utilized to diagnose heart failure, valve disorders, and myocardial infarction. It also assesses cardiac structures' size, shape, and motion, evaluates...