Is neurological assessment of the fetus possible?
The possibility to assess the functional condition of the fetal nervous system is of great importance to the obstetrician, since a considerable part of early brain damage is of prenatal origin. Several attempts to develop such a technique are reviewed. In addition, a new method, the qualitative assessment of fetal general movements, is described as a successful tool to obtain reliable data on the fetal brain dysfunction. This new method is robust, non-intrusive and cost-effective. There is also the advantage that the same criteria for the diagnostic assessment can be used for the fetus as well as for the young infant.
Prechtl
H F
HF
Department of Physiology, University of Graz, Austria.
Einspieler
C
C
D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D005324:Fetal Movement; D006801:Humans; D009420:Nervous System / Q000196:embryology*; D011247:Pregnancy