Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
Murine Fetal Echocardiography
Published on: February 15, 2013
Review of optical methods for fetal monitoring in utero
Jacqueline E Gunther1, Baptiste Jayet1, Sanathana Konugolu Venkata Sekar1
1Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Insights
Fetal pulse oximetry could improve monitoring during childbirth, reducing unnecessary Cesarean deliveries and birth injuries. This review explores biomedical optical advancements for transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry, highlighting challenges for clinical use.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical optics
- Biophotonics
- Medical device development
Background:
- Cardiotocography (CTG) is the standard for fetal monitoring during labor but suffers from high false positive and negative rates.
- These inaccuracies in CTG can lead to unnecessary emergency Cesarean deliveries or preventable birth injuries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review biomedical optical developments in transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry.
- To identify challenges hindering the clinical implementation of this technology.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of biophotonics research and biomedical optical advancements.
- Analysis of technologies related to transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry.
Main Results:
- Exploration of optical techniques for non-invasive fetal oxygen saturation monitoring.
- Identification of key technical and clinical hurdles for transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry.
Conclusions:
- Transabdominal fetal pulse oximetry offers a promising alternative to CTG for improved fetal wellbeing assessment.
- Overcoming current challenges in biophotonics is crucial for translating this technology into clinical practice.
Abstract:
The current technology for monitoring fetal wellbeing during child birth is cardiotocography. However, CTG has high false positive rates that lead to unnecessary emergency Cesarean deliveries and false negatives that result in birth injuries. To curtail these issues, fetal pulse oximetery has been a topic of interest for many decades. Fetal pulse oximetry would yield the oxygen saturation of the fetus in utero and provide a more robust marker for clinicians to make decisions about performing emergency Cesarean deliveries. Here, we present a review of biomedical optical developments related to transabdominal fetal pulse oximetery in the biophotonics field and the challenges that must be overcome to make transabdominal pulse oximetry a clinical reality.
Related Concept Videos
01:17Ultrasonography
During an ultrasonography procedure, a handheld device called a...
01:14Fetal Circulation
Two umbilical arteries transport blood from the fetus to the placenta. At the placenta, the blood absorbs oxygen and nutrients while simultaneously eliminating waste products. This oxygen-enriched and nutrient-rich blood then returns to the fetus through one...