Noninvasive prenatal testing using fetal DNA in maternal plasma is an actively researched area. The current generation of tests using massively parallel sequencing is based on counting plasma DNA sequences originating from different genomic regions. In this study, we explored a different approach that is based on the use of DNA fragment size as a diagnostic parameter. This approach is dependent...

We recently demonstrated whole genome sequencing of a human fetus using only parental DNA samples and plasma from the pregnant mother. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated how samples obtained noninvasively in the first or second trimester can be analyzed to yield a highly accurate and substantially complete genetic profile of the fetus, including both inherited and de novo variation. Here,...

OBJECTIVE/AIMS To investigate the presence of signal ambiguity of intrapartum fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring during delivery by comparing simultaneous cardiotocogram (CTG), abdominal fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) with continuous maternal ECG. METHODS A total of 144 simultaneous CTG (Corometrics 250 series), abdominal fetal ECG (Monica -AN24™) and maternal ECG (Monica AN24™) recordings were...

LetG be a locally compact topological group and EG its universal space for the family of compact subgroups. We give criteria for this space to be G-homotopy equivalent to a d-dimensional G-CW -complex, a finite G-CW -complex or a G-CW -complex of finite type. Essentially we reduce these questions to discrete groups, and to the homological algebra of the orbit category of discrete groups with re...

BACKGROUND The presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma represents a source of fetal genetic material for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis; however, the coexisting background maternal DNA complicates the analysis of aneuploidy in such fetal DNA. Recently, the SERPINB5 gene on chromosome 18 was shown to exhibit different DNA-methylation patterns in the placenta and maternal blood cells, and the al...

The analysis of circulating nucleic acids has revealed applications in the noninvasive diagnosis, monitoring, and prognostication of many clinical conditions. Circulating fetal-specific sequences have been detected and constitute a fraction of the total DNA in maternal plasma. The diagnostic reliability of circulating DNA analysis depends on the fractional concentration of the targeted sequence...

Background: Fetal sex determination is useful for families at risk of X-linked disorders, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, adrenal hypoplasia, hemophilia. At first, this could be obtained through invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling, having a 1% risk of miscarriage. Since the discovery of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma, noninvasive prenata...

Fetal/neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia is the most common cause of severe thrombocytopenia in the fetus and in an otherwise healthy newborn. To counter the consequences of severe fetal thrombocytopenia, antenatal therapies have been implemented. Predictive parameters for fetal severe thrombocytopenia are important for the development of noninvasive strategy and tailored intervention. We rep...

The first recording of the fetal electrocardiogram was described 80 years ago. Since that time only the peak of the QRS complex has been used in fetal monitoring for the measurement of fetal heart rate. Attempts to quantify changes in the configuration and time constants have been attempted over the last 30 years but despite the data obtained from animal experiments suggesting configurational c...

=AbstractZFetal descending thoracic aorta blood flow velocity waveforms were measured in 63 pregnancies. They were either delivered by elective CIS before labor (56 patients) or suffered an antefartum fetal death (7 patients). There was a significant correlation between the aorta waveforms and the cord arterial pH. A cord arterial pH less than 7.20 or an intrauterine fetal death were used as ou...