Altered right portal and umbilical vein doppler parameters in fetal macrosomia resulting from pregestational and gestational diabetic mothers: A prospective case-control study

Objective: To evaluate the blood flow of the umbilical vein and right portal vein in macrosomic fetuses of diabetic mothers and investigate the effect of maternal insulin treatment on these blood flows.Material and Methods: This prospective case-control study was con- ducted between March 2019 and December 2019. Fetuses of the 49 pregestational and gestational diabetic mothers who had an abdominal cir- cumference percentile above 97% were evaluated as macrosomic and formed the study group. The study group was divided into two subgroups: patients treated with insulin and those who did not. In the control group, 48 non-diabetic pregnant women with matched gestatio nal weeks whose fetuses are at the 10-90% percentile were included. Time-averaged maximum blood velocity (TAMXV) values of the right portal vein and the free loop of the umbilical vein were measured.Results: The median right portal vein TAMXV value and umbilical vein TAMXV value were found to be significantly higher in diabetic pregnancies (16.25 cm/s, and 15.28 cm/s, respectively) than in the control group (12.76 cm/s, and 13.38 cm/s, respectively, p<0.001). Umbilical and right portal vein flows were similar in macrosomic fetuses of diabetic mothers who were treated with insulin or those who did not. While umbilical vein flow in macrosomic fetuses increased as the gestational age pro gressed (p=0.028), it was observed steadily in normally growing fetuses. Conclusion: The umbilical and right portal vein flows are higher in macro- somic fetuses of diabetic mothers than in appropriately grown fetuses. Maternal insulin treatment does not affect fetal umbilic al vein and right portal vein blood flow in macrosomic fetuses

Conversion of a Conventional Wheelchair into an Autonomous Personal Transportation Testbed

Personal transportation is the act of transporting an individual by using a small, low-speed vehicle. It is a very hot research topic both in industry and academia. There are many different types of personal transportation vehicles, and wheelchairs are one of them. Autonomous driving is another very popular subject that is applicable to the personal transportation vehicles. Autonomous personal transportation vehicles are good examples of service robotics applications. In this study, conversion procedure of a conventional electric wheelchair into an autonomous personal transportation testbed and the application of some basic autonomous driving algorithms on the developed testbed are explained. In literature, there are several studies providing information on wheelchairs’ autonomy but not deep information about the conversion itself. In this paper, the conversion process is investigated in detail, under two main sections. The first part is by-wire conversion, which allows the wheelchair to be controlled via computer commands. The second part includes the studies on sensors, computational system, and human interface. After making such modifications on wheelchair, fundamental algorithms required for autonomy, such as mapping and localization, are implemented successfully. The results are promising for the usage of the developed system as a testbed for examining new autonomous algorithms and evaluating the performance of the perceptional/computational components

Does fetal MR alter the management of pregnancy in the diagnosis of isolated corpus callosum agenesis?

Objective To determine if fetal MR alters the management of pregnancy and family decisions in the isolated corpus callosum agenesis (CCA) cases or not. Methods Fetal MR was carried out in the cases diagnosed with CCA in the Perinatology Unit of our hospital between 2013 and 2019 after they were differentiated as complex and isolated CCA cases. The impact of MR results on the family decisions and their approaches towards termination were assessed. Results A total of 109 out 139 cases were evaluated as isolated CCA. While 93 (85.32%) of them were diagnosed with the complete CCA, 16 (14.68%) cases were diagnosed with the partial CCA. When the period after 2017 during which fetal MR was recommended to all patients was reviewed, it was seen that 7 (23.3%) of 30 cases who underwent fetal MR and 2 (20%) of 10 cases who did not undergo fetal MR terminated their pregnancies. There was no statistical difference between two groups in terms of the decisions of the patients for gestational termination who did and did not undergo fetal MR. Conclusion Fetal MR imaging in the isolated CCA does not change the decisions of the families for the gestational termination. In terms of the termination decision, week of gestation and socio-cultural factors may have more impacts

The assessment of cardiac function with tissue Doppler imaging in fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the cardiac function of fetuses with congenital diaphragmatic hernia by conventional echocardiography and spectral tissue Doppler imaging (s-TDI) and to evaluate the relationship between cardiac function and the severity of pulmonary hypoplasia. We also aimed to investigate the effect of diaphragmatic hernia side on fetal cardiac function. Methods: Fetal cardiac function were evaluated in 28 fetuses (20 with left-sided and 8 with right-sided) complicated with isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) and 56 gestational age matched control in this single center prospective study. s-TDI measurements were obtained at the right atrioventricular valve annulus. The annular peak velocities and their ratios, the time periods of cardiac cycle and myocardial performance index were calculated. Results: In comparison to controls, significantly prolonged isovolumetric contraction time (ICT ') and isovolumetric relaxation time (IRT ') and, significantly shortened ejection time (ET ') were observed in fetuses with CDH by s-TDI. Fetuses with CDH also had higher myocardial performance index (MPI ') z-scores compared to controls. There were no significant differences in terms of s-TDI cardiac function parameters between fetuses with right- and left-sided CDH. In correlation analysis, a significant positive correlation was found between ET ' value and o/e LHR. Conclusion: The signs of both systolic and diastolic altered function were observed in fetuses with CDH with s-TDI independent of the side of the hernia, and a significant positive correlation was observed between fetal cardiac systolic function and the severity of pulmonary hypoplasia

Fetal bronchopulmonary malformations: Prenatal diagnosis and perinatal outcomes

Amaç: Bu çalışmada prenatal dönemde konjenital pulmoner hava yolu malformasyonu ve bronkopulmoner sekestrasyon tanısı alan olguların klinik özelliklerinin, prognozu etkileyen faktörlerin ve perinatal sonuçlarının değerlendirilmesi amaçlandı. Yöntem: Ocak 2013-Aralık 2016 tarihleri arasında hastanemiz perinatoloji ünitesinde konjenital pulmoner hava yolu malformasyonu ve bronkopulmoner sekestrasyon tanısı alan 59 olgunun kayıtları incelendi. Torakal kitlenin özellikleri ve doğal seyri ile olguların yönetimleri ve perinatal sonuçları incelendi. Bulgular: Otuz yedi olgu (%71.2) konjenital pulmoner hava yolu malformasyonu ve 15 olgu (%28.8) bronkopulmoner sekestrasyon tanısı aldı. Olguların %17.3’de eşlik eden yapısal anomali saptanırken, eşlik eden yapısal anomalisi olan olguların 4’ünde (%7.7) kromozom anomalisi mevcuttu. Olguların %75’inde canlı doğum gerçekleşti. Yenidoğan döneminde 23 olguda (%59) bronkopulmoner malformasyon varlığı radyolojik olarak gösterildi ve bu olguların 18’i (%78.3) yaşamın ilk bir yılında opere edildi. Sonuç: Eşlik eden anomali ve hidrops yokluğunda fetal bronkopulmoner malformasyon olgularının prenatal dönemde oldukça iyi seyrettiği ve özellikle spontan regresyon izlenen olguların postnatal dönemde operasyon gereksinimi olmadan sorunsuz yaşamlarını sürdürdüklerini saptadık. Fetal bronkopulmoner malformasyonlar ve diğer torakal anomalilerin prenatal tanı sıklığının artırılabilmesi amacıyla temel fetal anatomik tarama sırasında toraks transvers kesitlerden görüntülenmeli ve klinik şüphe varlığında çoklu sonografik planlar kullanılarak ayırıcı tanı yapılmalıdır.Objective: To evaluate the clinical features, prognostic factors and perinatal outcomes of fetuses with the diagnosis of congenital pulmonary airway malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration. Method: The medical records of 59 fetuses with the diagnosis of congenital pulmonary airway malformation and bronchopulmonary sequestration were retrospectively analyzed. The characteristics and natural history of the thoracic mass, and the perinatal outcomes of cases were evaluated. Results: While 37 cases (71.2%) were diagnosed as congenital pulmonary airway malformation, 15 cases (28.8%) were diagnosed as bronchopulmonary sequestration. Associated structural anomalies were detected in 17.3 percent of cases and chromosomal anomalies were present in 7.7 percent of cases with associated anomalies. Live birth occured in 75 percent of cases. The presence of bronchopulmonary malformation was shown in 59 percent of cases in postnatal period, and 78.3 percent of these cases were operated in the first year of life. Conclusion: We observed that fetuses with the diagnosis of bronchopulmonary malformation had a good prognosis in the absence of associated anomaly and fetal hydrops. It is also observed that the cases with spontaneous regression of the thoracic mass did not need an operation. Thoracic transverse sections should be evaluated during basic fetal anatomic screening in order to increase the frequency of prenatal diagnosis of fetal thoracic anomalies