Correlation between biomagnetic and Doppler findings of the uterine artery in normal and preeclamptic pregnancies

Abstract

To elucidate the hemodynamics of the uterine artery in normal and abnormal pregnancies by use of Doppler ultrasound and SQUID biomagnetometry. Two hundred and three women (gestational age 28-42 weeks) were included in the study. Forty-three of them had preeclampsia and/or intrauterine growth restriction and 160 were normal. Uterine artery waveform measurements were evaluated by use of pulsatility index (PI) (normal value PI<1.45). Biomagnetic signals of uterine arteries were recorded and analyzed with Fourier analysis. The biomagnetic signals were distributed according to spectral amplitudes as high (140-300 fT/ radicalHz), low (50-110 fT/ radicalHz) and borderline (111-139 fT/ radicalHz). There was a statistically significant difference between normal and abnormal pregnancies concerning the waveform amplitudes (p < 0.001) and the PI index (p < 0.001). Specifically, we noticed high biomagnetic amplitudes in most normal pregnancies (92.5%) and low biomagnetic amplitudes in most preeclamptic cases (90.7%). Our study results indicated that biomagnetic measurements of uterine artery might prove to be useful in the evaluation of the fetal well being, especially in cases of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction.