Fetal-Maternal Medicine

We conduct early phase research in some key emerging areas of fetal-maternal medicine: developing automated algorithms for 3D fetal diagnosis, non-invasive high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of twin-twin-transfusion syndrome; international multicentre studies on early identification and management of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction, understanding the relationship between maternal cardiovascular function and pregnancy outcome; investigating the effect of IVF on maternal cardiovascular function; pharmacological treatment of severe early onset pre-eclampsia; the use of transabdominal and transperineal ultrasound for non-intrusive objective assessment of the fetal passage in labour aiding prediction of outcome; and applying ultrasound to prediction of outcome in the labour ward. Our collaborators are major UK, European and Australian research facilities. For the TRUFFLE 2 study we co-ordinate a network of nearly 50 centres for the including Austria, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Australia to name but a few. Notable links include the University of Cambridge for maternal cardiovascular function and physiology, Great Ormond Street for 3D fetal facial and brain analysis and the Institute of Cancer Research for HIFU.