Monitoring labor in pregnancy aim of grant to develop imaging technology

 Monitoring uterine contractions during labor is critical for safeguarding maternal health and preventing preterm births, the world’s leading cause of death in children under age 5. Toward that end, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis plan to develop a portable, inexpensive and noninvasive 3D imaging system designed to monitor labor progression.

The researchers have received more than $1.1 million in new grant funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help make uterine mapping technology available globally in low-income clinics that lack basic resources in their labor and delivery rooms.

“Women and children in poor settings experience more adverse health complications related to birth,” said Yong Wang, principal investigator and an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology‘s Division of Clinical Research. “Understanding patterns in uterine contractions can help detect labor dysfunction and allow for timely clinical intervention.”