AN AMBULATORY UTERINE ACTIVITY MONITOR (AUAM) IS PROPOSED FOR THE MONITORING OF PATIENTS AT RISK FOR PREMATURE LABOR.

AN AMBULATORY UTERINE ACTIVITY MONITOR (AUAM) IS PROPOSED FOR THE MONITORING OF PATIENTS AT RISK FOR PREMATURE LABOR. NEONATAL PREMATURITY REMAINS A GREAT CHALLENGE. IN 1975, ONE PERCENT OF U.S. LIVE BIRTHS DEVELOPED RESPIRATORY DISTRESS SYNDROME (RDS), OF WHICH 6,000 TO 8,000 DEATHS WEREDIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO PREMATURITY. ADDITIONALLY, 75 PERCENT OF ALL PERINATAL DEATHS ARE IN PREMATURE INFANTS. PREMATURITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGH MORBIDITY, EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, AND INTENSIVE MEDICAL CARE, RESULTING IN SPIRALING HEALTH CARE COSTS. A MEANS OF EXTENDING AT-RISK PREGNANCIESWOULD REDUCE HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURES WHILE IMPROVING THE MORTALITY AND MORBIDITY STATISTICS. THE PROPOSED GOAL IS ANAUAM THAT CONSISTS OF A MONITORING CONSOLE AND AN AMBULATORYMONITOR (AM). THE FOCUS OF PHASE I IS TO ESTABLISH THE TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY OF CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE AM. A TOCODYNAMOMETER (TOCO) WILL BE DEVELOPED UTILIZING THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF A CARBON-DOPED, SEMICONDUCTIVE ELASTOMER AS A UTERINE ACTIVITY SENSOR (UAS). THE TRANS- DUCING PROPERTIES OF THE UAS WILL BE EVALUATED IN A CONTROLLED OFFICE AND/OR HOSPITAL SETTING. THE ELASTOMERIC TOCO WILL THEN BE MODIFIED FOR RELIABLE 24-HOUR AMBULATORY MONITORING IN THE HOME ENVIRONMENT. SOFTWARE ALGORITHMS WILL BE DEVELOPED FOR THE EFFICACIOUS IDENTIFICATION AND DOCUMENTATION OF UTERINE CONTRACTIONS SENSED BY THE ELASTO- MERIC TOCO. A SUCCESSFUL AUAM WILL EXTEND PREGNANCIES, RESULTING IN LONGER-TERM, HEALTHIER NEWBORNS.