Wave reflection ultrasound is a new imaging approach to assess placental function using conventional obstetric ultrasound equipment. Researchers from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto 
, supported by NICHD through the Human Placenta Project (HPP), are part of an international team that designed the method to enable early detection of placental disease, including fetal vascular malperfusion.
Understanding the Risks of Fetal Vascular Malperfusion
Fetal vascular malperfusion is a type of placental disease in which fetal blood flow through the placenta is reduced. It can have severe adverse effects on the fetus and lead to stillbirth. One way to measure fetal blood flow is to check the activity in the umbilical artery by using Doppler ultrasound. However, such measures are confounded by physiological variables, such as fetal heart rate , making current tools unreliable in predicting placental disease during pregnancy.
Using New Wave Reflection Ultrasound Technology and Analysis
A team of researchers have developed the new wave reflection ultrasound technology that is sensitive to the pressure pulse generated when the fetal heart contracts. This pulse travels along the umbilical artery and, when it reaches the placenta, may be partially reflected back toward the fetus. Isolating this portion of the pulsation that is specific to the placenta may provide more accurate assessments than conventional methods do. In one study, the team found that wave reflections were significantly elevated in women with fetal and maternal vascular malperfusion.
Initial Research Implications
The research team found that the novel technique could be used for the early detection of fetal vascular malperfusion, a form of placental disease not normally diagnosed using conventional methods. The early detection of the condition would inform prenatal care, enabling obstetricians to more closely monitor pregnancies and time delivery to avoid stillbirth and other complications.
Learn more about the team
Principal Investigator(s):
Learn more about the HPP-funded project:
Environmental factors in placental pathology: a new diagnostic method based on umbilical vessel wave mechanics
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