Monitoring uterine activity during labor: adaptation of the tocodynamometer system to the dog.
The tocodynamometer, a noninvasive instrument that has revolutionized the method of pregnancy monitoring, was introduced into human obstetric practice, allowing continuous recording of uterine contractile activity in the days before delivery and at the time of delivery. The use of this technological tool in veterinary medicine would allow decisions to be based on accurate and objective data. In fact, the correlation between the frequency and intensity of uterine contractions in real-time and the timing of pregnancy can allow a more accurate understanding of when labor will occur and when complications will occur.The aim of this project is to bring to Europe an innovative method of monitoring parturition in bitches by adapting technologically advanced devices already used in human medicine. In addition, this tool should help us to understand as accurately as possible the date of delivery, promote the mother’s well-being, and predict emergency conditions, such as dystocic birth, so that we can intervene in a timely but unhurried manner. The primary clinical finding of this project is to use the tocodynamometer to understand the physiological mechanisms that regulate labor.
I am doctor Elisa Giussani, who graduated with honors from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Milan in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, I continued working as a contract worker in the university veterinary hospital’s emergency and hospital inpatient department and started working as a freelancer in a veterinary ambulatory clinic.
Publications: Orcid
Supervisor Prof. Debora Groppetti
Co-supervisor Prof. Alessandro Pecile
