Tina Chen
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Alex Peahl
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Dept Ob/Gyn, IHPI / Medicine
Program:
Authors: , Alex Peahl, Tina Chen, Shreya Venkataperumal, Daria Stelmark
Session: Session 1: 9:00 am – 9:50 am
Poster: 100
Abstract
As pregnancy develops, prenatal care becomes increasingly important. One of the primary goals of prenatal care is to detect and manage chronic conditions and complications that can affect the fetus and/or the mother. A key part of antenatal testing is the biophysical profile (BPP), which is an ultrasound assessment of 4 key fetal parameters: gross body movement, tone, breathing, and fluid. This test has been traditionally performed in clinical settings by trained professionals and may take up to several hours. However, many pregnant patients across the country cannot easily access a clinic for several reasons, including lack of access to transportation, living in a remote area, employment, and other responsibilities. Emerging studies suggest that the Pulsenmore ES at-home-use ultrasound device can allow pregnant patients to complete such assessments from the comfort of their homes, reducing the burden of clinical care. To date, remote BPPs have not been attempted. This study serves as a preliminary test to assess whether patients can complete and obtain the same parameters for a BPP using the Pulsenmore device with remote clinician guidance. Eligible patients will attend a maximum of 4 study visits, each of which will consist: 1) 30-minute training session, 2) 40-minute sonographer-guided scan, 3) 20-minute post-survey. Demographic and health information will be collected to provide a holistic review of patients’ health. Surveys will assess a variety of health aspects, from the device’s efficacy to the patient’s emotional health. Due to unforeseen contract complications, data collection has been postponed. However, we hypothesize that after sufficient training, patients will be comfortable performing an ultrasound with the Pulsenmore device with support from a sonographer over video. Patients will feel emotionally/physically stable throughout the study and will be able to obtain the parameters for a BPP that otherwise would’ve been obtained in a clinical setting.
