Gary Clifford, PhD, a principal research scientist at Harvard-MIT Division of Health and Science Technology, was featured in MIT Tech Talk for his reserach in developing a system that allows for early monitoring of the fetal heartbeat. This break through research initiative is a collaboration between the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Sharif University, the Tufts University School of Medicine, and E-TROLZ Inc.
Among other advantages, the system is expected to be less expensive and easier to use than current technologies. It could also cut the rate of Cesarean deliveries by helping clinicians rule out potential problems that might otherwise prompt the procedure. Finally, the device used today to monitor subtle changes in the fetal heartbeat during labor must be attached to the fetus itself, but the new product would be noninvasive.
“Our objective is to make a monitoring system that’s simultaneously cheaper and more effective” than what is currently available, said Gari Clifford, PhD, a principal research scientist at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Clifford expects that the system could be commercially available in two to three years pending FDA approval.
For the full article, visit MIT Tech Talk: July 3, 2009 pg. 4
