Journal
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
Volume 15, Issue 138, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0593
Keywords
musculo-skeletal development; joint biomechanics; cine-MRI; biomechanical stimuli; finite element analysis
Categories
Funding
- Arthritis Research UK [20683]
- Wellcome Trust
- EPSRC IEH Award [102431]
- European Research Council dHCP project [319456]
- NIHR Clinician Scientist Fellowship award [NIHR-CS-012-002]
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity
- NIHR GOSH Biomedical Research Centre
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre
- MRC [MC_U120088465, MR/R002118/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) [CDF-2017-10-037] Funding Source: National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR)
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity [V0117] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [MR/R002118/1, MC_U120088465] Funding Source: researchfish
- National Institute for Health Research [NIHR-CS-012-002, CDF-2017-10-037] Funding Source: researchfish
- Versus Arthritis [20683] Funding Source: researchfish
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Mechanical forces generated by fetal kicks and movements result in stimulation of the fetal skeleton in the form of stress and strain. This stimulation is known to be critical for prenatal musculoskeletal development; indeed, abnormal or absent movements have been implicated in multiple congenital disorders. However, the mechanical stress and strain experienced by the developing human skeleton in utero have never before been characterized. Here, we quantify the biomechanics of fetal movements during the second half of gestation by modelling fetal movements captured using novel cine-magnetic resonance imaging technology. By tracking these movements, quantifying fetal kick and muscle forces, and applying them to three-dimensional geometries of the fetal skeleton, we test the hypothesis that stress and strain change over ontogeny. We find that fetal kick force increases significantly from 20 to 30 weeks' gestation, before decreasing towards term. However, stress and strain in the fetal skeleton rises significantly over the latter half of gestation. This increasing trend with gestational age is important because changes in fetal movement patterns in late pregnancy have been linked to poor fetal outcomes and musculoskeletal malformations. This research represents the first quantification of kick force and mechanical stress and strain due to fetal movements in the human skeleton in utero, thus advancing our understanding of the bio-mechanical environment of the uterus. Further, by revealing a potential link between fetal biomechanics and skeletal malformations, our work will stimulate future research in tissue engineering and mechanobiology.
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