Crichton, Doctor MichaelHands, Doctor PhilipHand, Professor DuncanTurgut, Burhan2026-01-132025-09https://www.ros.hw.ac.uk/handle/10399/5224Fetal hypoxia—when a baby is deprived of oxygen before or during birth—is a major cause of newborn deaths and long-term neurological conditions like cerebral palsy. Despite advances in fetal monitoring, current methods still fall short in detecting hypoxia early enough for timely intervention. Cardiotocography (CTG), the use of ultrasound sensing of fetal heart rates, is widely used but often produces false alarms. Fetal scalp Blood Sampling (FBS), though more precise, is invasive, time-consuming, and only offers a single timepoint snapshot of fetal well-being. A better, less invasive, and continuous monitoring solution is urgently needed. This research seeks to develop a new fetal lactate sensing platform that combines microdialysis (MD) with a fetal scalp electrode (FSE) to enable continuous, real-time lactate monitoring during labor. Since lactate is an early marker of oxygen deprivation, tracking its levels in real-time offers a clearer and more immediate picture of fetal distress. Our aim is to continuously extract interstitial fluid (ISF) from the fetal scalp through a microdialysis probe, which is then analyzed by an electrochemical biosensor. This work establishes lab-based (in-vitro) and biological tissue (ex-vivo) experiments to refine the probe design, assess how well it captures lactate, and test the accuracy of the proposed biosensor. The findings show that the integrated MD-FSE system can consistently and accurately track lactate levels in real-time in skin tissue. The biosensor successfully detected lactate at clinically relevant levels, while the microdialysis system maintained efficient lactate extraction. By providing continuous biochemical monitoring, this system has the potential to improve clinical decision-making, reduce unnecessary caesarean sections, and ultimately improve birth outcomes by enabling earlier medical interventions when a baby is in distress. Future work will focus on optimizing the probe for long-term stability, testing the system in live clinical settings, and working toward regulatory approval. By offering a minimally invasive, real-time monitoring tool, this technology marks an important step forward in preventing hypoxia-related complications and improving neonatal care.enMaster of Philosophy