Healthy Babies by the Numbers Tuesday, November 10, 2009 TAU
develops innovative algorithms to combat growth restrictions
before birth -- for healthy hearts When a fetus is smaller than
expected for the number of weeks of pregnancy, due to associated
problems like a poorly developed heart, health concerns as
severe as brain damage can result. The condition, known as
Intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR), prompts doctors to use
ultrasound to track a baby's health and determine the best time
for delivery. But these measurements are often incomplete, and
obstetricians have had to rely on educated guesses about the
strength of a fetus's circulatory system. Now, thanks to new
research from Tel Aviv University, IUGR babies will have a
better chance for a healthy life. Prof. Ofer Barnea of TAU's
Department of Biomedical Engineering, in collaboration with
Prof. Jacob Bar from the Wolfson Medical Center, couples
mathematical models with information about a baby's physiology
inside the womb. Combining ultrasound with