Summary:
This Research Topic aims at presenting emerging monitoring and novel treatment approaches in near-term fetuses and neonates. The focus will be on complex signals bioinformatics (big data physiologic monitoring) and nanotechnology (as used for diagnostic imaging and treatment of perinatal stroke). Authors will address achievements in their fields and strategies to overcome current challenges, and will anticipate future developments in fundamental knowledge and technological applications.

In-depth view:
How do prenatal exposures to various stimuli impact postnatal developmental trajectories for the duration of a person's life span? The tripartite challenge is biological, medical and technological. The biological challenge lies in understanding the plethora of effects causing such trajectory shifts. The medical and technological challenges are to timely detect and follow up at-risk fetuses and neonates with the goal of identifying babies at risk for diseases in later life. Moreover, systems to accomplish this must be deployable across variably-equipped healthcare settings at a reasonable cost.

We believe that such challenges can be tackled with technologies emerging from complex signals bioinformatics, mathematical modeling and nanoengineering. We hope to make a strong case that avenues to diagnose and treat conditions such as perinatal stroke and inflammation extend beyond pharmacology and have the potential to advance perinatal health care world-wide. We will solicit contributions linking obstetrics/fetomatermal medicine and neonatalogy/pediatric neurology/gastroneuroenterology with neuroimmunology, mathematical modeling, biomedical engineering and nanotechnology to facilitate and integrate the exchange of ideas in this transdisciplinary endeavour.

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.