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Feng, Q., Chaemsaithong, P., Duan, H., Ju, X., Appiah, K., Shen, L., Wang, X., Tai, Y., Leung, T.Y. and Poon, L.C. (2022) Screening for Spontaneous Preterm Birth by Cervical Length and Shear-Wave Elastography in the First Trimester of Pregnancy. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 227, 500.E1-500.E14.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2022.04.014

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Evaluating the Efficacy of Cervical Tactile Ultrasound Technique as a Predictive Tool for Spontaneous Preterm Birth

  AUTHORS: Vladimir Egorov, Todd Rosen, Jennifer Hill, Meena Khandelwal, Victors Kurtenoks, Brendan Francy, Noune Sarvazyan

  KEYWORDS: Cervical Elasticity, Spontaneous Preterm Birth, Tactile Ultrasound Probe

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol.14 No.5, May 24, 2024

  ABSTRACT: Background: Premature cervical softening and shortening may be considered an early mechanical failure that predispose to preterm birth. Purpose: This study aims to explore the applicability of an innovative cervical tactile ultrasound approach for predicting spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB). Materials and Methods: Eligible participants were women with low-risk singleton pregnancies in their second trimester, enrolled in this prospective observational study. A Cervix Monitor (CM) device was designed with a vaginal probe comprising four tactile sensors and a single ultrasound transducer operating at 5 MHz. The probe enabled the application of controllable pressure to the external cervical surface, facilitating the acquisition of stress-strain data from both anterior and posterior cervical sectors. Gestational age at delivery was recorded and compared against cervical elasticity. Results: CM examination data were analyzed for 127 women at 240/7 - 286/7 gestational weeks. sPTB was observed in 6.3% of the cases. The preterm group exhibited a lower average cervical stress-to-strain ratio (elasticity) of 0.70 ± 0.26 kPa/mm compared to the term group’s 1.63 ± 0.65 kPa/mm with a p-value of 1.1 × 10−4. Diagnostic accuracy for predicting spontaneous preterm birth based solely on cervical elasticity data was found to be 95.0% (95% CI, 88.5 - 100.0). Conclusion: These findings suggest that measuring cervical elasticity with the designed tactile ultrasound probe has the potential to predict spontaneous preterm birth in a cost-effective manner.