Given that the baby was positioned with its head facing downwards and exposed to a simulated explosion underneath the mother's womb (a military blast under a car), it is evident that more stress/strain (shown in red) occurred in the region surrounding its skull.
Newswise — Pregnancy-related trauma is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in pregnant women and their unborn babies (fetuses).1 Now, a new, cutting-edge study by researchers at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), published in the journal Injury, analyzes how the amniotic fluid that surrounds the fetus can safeguard unborn babies during a military blast.
The findings, which could inform the development of future safety devices and allow clinicians to better assess and treat fetal injuries, are particularly relevant amidst current military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
“With documented cases of air strikes targeting maternity hospitals, this research holds significance,” says biomedical engineer and NYITCOM Assistant Professor Milan Toma, Ph.D., who led the study.
Computational simulations, like those used in the study, can allow physicians to visualize the true impact of trauma on a fetus and assist them in making a prognosis. However, many existing simulations are insufficient, as they portray the fluid as an elastic solid and fail to replicate intricate gestational anatomy and interaction between amniotic fluid and other structures. In contrast, the new NYITCOM study, which simulated the impact of an explosion beneath a motor vehicle, provides elaborate 3-D models with real patient-specific geometries. Additionally, the models accounted for fluid-structure interaction in spaces between the inner lining of the uterus and fetus, placenta, and umbilical cord.
The computations illustrated that amniotic fluid is crucial in safeguarding the fetus. Despite subjecting the outside of the uterus to multiple acceleration changes following the simulated explosion, the fetus, inside the uterus, experienced lesser changes in acceleration. The models also showed which areas of the fetus's body may be subject to injury as the result of a military blast. As the fetus was positioned with its head facing downwards and exposed to an explosion underneath the mother's womb, the area around the skull was shown to incur more stress.
In addition to helping physicians visualize how military blasts cause trauma to unborn babies, the findings could help to inform the development of future devices that protect mothers and their unborn children from trauma caused by other external forces, like motor vehicle collisions.
The study was conducted in collaboration with other experts including Jonathan Arias (D.O. ’23) and Gregory Kurgansky (D.O. ’23), former NYITCOM students who have since completed their studies and advanced to residency programs. It also involved the participation of Ong Chi Wei, Ph.D., from Singapore's Institute of High Performance Computing and Rosalyn Chan-Akeley, M.D., an OB-GYN affiliated with Lang Research Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens.
About New York Institute of Technology
New York Institute of Technology's six schools and colleges offer undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and other professional degree programs in in-demand disciplines including computer science, data science, and cybersecurity; biology, health professions, and medicine; architecture and design; engineering; IT and digital technologies; management; and energy and sustainability. A nonprofit, independent, private, and nonsectarian institute of higher education founded in 1955, it welcomes nearly 8,000 students worldwide. The university has campuses in New York City and Long Island, New York; Jonesboro, Arkansas; and Vancouver, British Columbia, as well as programs around the world. More than 114,000 alumni are part of an engaged network of physicians, architects, scientists, engineers, business leaders, digital artists, and healthcare professionals. Together, the university's community of doers, makers, healers, and innovators empowers graduates to change the world, solve 21st-century challenges, and reinvent the future. For more information, visit nyit.edu.
1 Stokes S.C., Rubalcava N.S., Theodorou C.M., Bhatia M.B., Gray B.W., Saadai P., Russo R.M., McLennan A., Bichianu D.C., Austin M.T., Marwan A.I., Alkhoury F.: Recognition and management of traumatic fetal injuries. Injury 2022; 53: pp. 1329-1344.
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