Our centre works to search for solutions for prenatal origin diseases. A multidisciplinary team allows us to combine a multifaceted approach to problems where all the points of view are considered, including also the vision of the society, so the design of the research incorporates efficiently the users' views and concerns.
The main strategic goal and most resources are focused in the development of the research infrastructure and the stablishment of supradisciplinary research lines for the prediction and prevention of neurological and / or cardiac damage of prenatal origin.
Our main research lines are:
- Brain injury of prenatal origin (Daño cerebral de origen prenatal)
- Fetal cardiovascular programming (Programación cardiovascular fetal)
- Fetal therapy (Terapia fetal)
With a functional design we integrate the prenatal and postnatal follow-up, so that the fetus and child are the same patient followed through its journey from prenatal to postnatal life. This design has received several international recognitions.
Over recent years we have developed advanced technologies allowing advances in the understanding of how the brain and the heart are programmed in fetal life in the presence of different problems. Some of these are here emphasized:
- New technologies of acquisition and processing of perinatal brain and heart imaging
- Models of oxygen restriction for the study of cerebral and cardiac cellular damage
- Neuropsychological tests to evaluate comprehensively neurodevelopment from the moment of birth
- Novel adaptation protocols for children allowing to perform magnetic resonances in newborns without the need for anaesthesia.