New Sensor Prototype For Diganosing Fetal Hypoxia

Filed in archive Diagnostics, Methodologies and Instrumentation on February 17, 2006

This entry is submitted by Gloria Gamat, via Creative Reporter.Fetal hypoxia is dangerous situation in the birth process when the unborn child's brain is starved of oxygen. Current tests for this condition require lab analysis of blood samples that could lead to delays, leaving doctors to decide in favor of proceeding with a cesarean section rather than take the risk of waiting.

University of Warwick researcher Professor Nick Dale was frustrated at the lack of effective instrumentation available to detect and study hypoxanthine and so he devised his own fine tuned probe to examine the chemical. An unborn child with more than 5 micromoles of hypoxanthine per liter of their blood is at severe risk of fetal hypoxia.

The use of Professor Dale's probes to test for hypoxanthine would give doctors in delivery rooms almost instant data on whether the unborn child faced fetal hypoxia and would also therefore reduce the number of caesareans conducted. Professor Dale is now working through a spin-off company Sarissa Biomedical Ltd, to take the work further and venture into producing a medical instrument using the new probes and then take it to full clinical trials in hospital delivery rooms.

News and Photo source: Univ WarwickAbout Gloria Gamat: Gloria is a Chemist and a single mom. Gloria also blogs about motherhood at EMothersOnline and about life and travel in the Philippines at The Philippine Culture Blog and at Pinoy Travel Blog respectively.