Light flashed through a pregnant woman's abdomen may one day help detect brain damage in her fetus, said researchers at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) who helped develop the stimulus-response system (Lancet. 2002;360:779-781).
Previous studies have shown that maternal hypertension, diabetes, pregnancy with multiple infants, and other conditions can lead to fetal hypoxia. Prenatal infections, smoking, and other problems can also interfere with normal fetal brain development.
Although structural problems in the fetal brain can be detected using magnetic resonance imaging, until recently it has been impossible to directly assess brain activity in a fetus. A new technology, called magnetoencephalography (MEG), can directly measure brain activity at rest or in response to a stimulus. MEG works by measuring atomic-level magnetic field perturbations during brain activity.
The proof-of-concept study used a device designed by Curtis Lowery, MD, of the University of Arkansas for Medical . . . [Full Text of this Article]
