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Abstract #2026

Birth the Hardest Journey in Life and a Brain Warping Experience. a Deformation Field Morphology Study of Fetal Brain During Labor

Peter Kochunov1, Carlos Castro2, Gerald Schatten3, David Purdy4, Duff Davis1

1Reseach Imaging Institute, UTHSCSA, san antonio, TX, United States; 2Ob / Gyn and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; 3Pittsburgh Development Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, United States; 4Siemens Medical Solutions, Malvern, PA , United States


Neonates of Old World monkeys have the longest gestational development phase among comparably sized mammals, and as a consequence, neonatal heads approach the size of the birthing canal. This can lead to cephalo-pelvic limitation, a situation in which the size of the birthing canal presents a physical limit on the size and shape of neonate during parturition. An unexpected labor provided a rare opportunity to map deformations experienced by the neonatal brain during these normal contractions. A deformation field analysis produced a 3-D array of 3-D displacement vectors, showing dramatic regional deformation of the fetal brain during normal labor.

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