Researchers have produced images of a baby’s heart whilst it is still in the womb.
Pregnant women were scanned in an MRI machine and powerful computers built 3D models of the tiny beating heart inside their unborn children. The team at King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’s said it will improve the care of babies with congenital heart disease. The researchers say their approach could be easily passed on to hospitals.
The technology works by a series of 2D pictures of the heart are taken from different angles using an MRI machine. The foetal heart is tiny and beats incredibly quickly; the baby moves around inside the womb so the images of the heart look like a blur. Computer software pieces the images together and builds a 3D image of the heart.
Congenital heart disease affects up to eight babies in every 1,000 babies born in the UK. They can be caused by infection, medicines or can run in families. The term ‘congenital’ means the condition is present from birth.
Signs of congenital heart disease can have a number of symptoms including:
- rapid heartbeat
- rapid breathing
- swelling of the legs, tummy or around the eyes
- extreme tiredness and fatigue
- a blue tinge to the skin (cyanosis)
- tiredness and rapid breathing when a baby is feeding
These signs are mainly spotted after birth.
The study shows the 3D imaging worked in 85 pregnant women but it has now been tested on more than 200 patients.
Dr David Lloyd, a clinical research fellow at King’s College London, said: “Our hope is this approach will now become standard practice for the Evelina foetal cardiology team, who make a prenatal diagnosis in 400 babies each year.
“This will also improve the care of over 150 babies each year who deliver at St Thomas’s Hospital with known congenital heart disease.”
