Mediplacements - MRI images could benefit operational department practitioners during caesarean

MRI images could benefit operational department practitioners during caesarean

Wednesday 8th December 2010

German doctors have managed to capture new images during labour that could prove essential to surgeons and operational department practitioners carrying out emergency birthing procedures.

Scientists at Charite Hospital in Berlin built a prototype magnetic-resonance imaging (MRI) scanner specifically to enable a woman to give birth in one.

Researchers indicate that they were able to capture clear images of processes and details that were previously only measurable using probes, reports the Daily Mail.

The machine was able to film all of the processes that went on inside the womb, including monitoring the infant's heartbeat.

Doctors are hopeful that these images could contribute to more lives being saved in the future, such as among children born by caesarean section.

In order to minimise infant distress, doctors had to switch off the MRI machine after the amniotic sac surrounding the baby was opened.

Earlier this year, a Cochrane Systematic Review involving researchers at the University of Liverpool indicated that using Doppler ultrasound during high-risk pregnancies could help to reduce the incidence of caesarean sections and infant deaths.

Written by Martin Lambert ADNFCR-1780-ID-800279598-ADNFCR