Panagiotis Anastasiadis, Photios A. Anninos, Athanasia Kotini, Kiriaki Avgidou, Georgios Galazios, Vasilios Liberis
SQUID biomagnetometry of the uterine arteries in normal and pre-eclamptic pregnancies
Aim: This study was designed to investigate the hemodynamics
of the uteroplacental circulation in normal
and pre-eclamptic pregnancies using the biomagnetometer
SQUID.
Method: Twenty-two pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia
and 49 normal pregnancies were included in
this study. All were near term. Biomagnetic signals
were recorded from the uterine arteries. After statistical
Fourier analysis, the findings were designated in terms
of spectral amplitudes as high (140–300 fT/?Hz), low
(50–110 fT/?Hz) and borderline (111–139 fT/?Hz).
Results: The uterine artery waveforms and the corresponding
spectral densities were of high amplitudes in
most (89.7 %) normal pregnancies and of low amplitudes in most (81.8 %) pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia
(p < 0.005). These findings were of statistical
significance and were correlated with fetal heart rate
(FHR) monitoring, pH, Apgar score at 1 and 5 minutes
and birth weight percentiles: high amplitude cases were
related with normal FHR patterns, pH > 7.25, Apgar
score >7 and birth weight > 75th percentile, while low
amplitude recordings were connected with abnormal
FHR patterns, pH < 7.25, Apgar score < 7, and birth
weight < 10th percentile (8 cases) and < 50th percentile
(10 cases).
Conclusion: Biomagnetic measurement of the uterine
artery flow, is a promising procedure in assessing fetal
health, especially in high-risk pregnancies.
Journal of Perinatal Medicine, Walter de Gruyter
Print ISSN: 1619-3997
Volume: 29, 11/2001
Pages: 433 - 441
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