Home▸Medical Technology & Imaging Physics▸Fetal-to-Neonatal Circulatory Transition Lab

🫀 Fetal-to-Neonatal Circulatory Transition Lab

Explore how a baby's circulatory system flips from the parallel, placenta-supported layout of fetal life to the in-series, lung-powered adult pattern within moments of the first breath. Simulate the ductus venosus, foramen ovale, and ductus arteriosus as they open and close in response to pressure and oxygen changes.

Medical Technology & Imaging Physics3DModerate60 FPS

This simulator demonstrates how fetal circulation's three shunts, the ductus venosus, foramen ovale, and ductus arteriosus, respond to the pressure and oxygen changes triggered by the first breath and umbilical cord clamping, converting a parallel circulatory layout into the adult in-series pattern over minutes to days.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

🎮 How to Use

Use the controls to trigger the first breath and umbilical cord clamping independently, then watch pulmonary vascular resistance, systemic vascular resistance, and atrial pressures shift in real time. Observe the order in which the foramen ovale, ductus arteriosus, and ductus venosus close, and try delaying cord clamping relative to the first breath to see how the sequence and timing change.

💡 Did You Know?

A probe-patent foramen ovale, meaning the flap is pressed shut but not permanently fused, persists into adulthood in roughly one in four people without causing any symptoms at all.

⚙ Under the hood

physiologycardiovascularneonatologyfetal-developmentcirculationbiologymedicinehomeostasis

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install