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Handheld foetal heartbeat monitor
Mothers-to-be may be able to listen to their babies’ heartbeat at home as the result of promising new research by IRL scientists and their collaborators at Victoria University.
Though still in prototype form, has the potential to be simpler, more convenient and more accurate than anything currently available on the market.
This research offers to let pregnant mums frequently and simply check their babies’ heartbeat themselves.
IRL has had considerable success to date in isolating the foetal heartbeat from the internal sounds of the mother, including digestion sounds and the maternal heartbeat, by using an array of sophisticated microphones embedded in a wide belt. IRL is now applying more complex sensor and processing technology to produce a handheld version.
The Pinard foetal stethoscope,used before the invention of ultrasound.
Both versions use blind source separation. This is a more passive alternative to the widely-used Doppler ultrasound device, called the SonicAid, which sends ultrasonic sound waves into the uterus. By using only microphones, the technique is more like that of the Pinard (pictured right), the foetal stethoscope that midwives used before the invention of ultrasound.
The heartbeat of an unborn baby can give clues to its health throughout the pregnancy and be monitored before and during birth to give early warning of any problems. Although most clinicians believe ultrasound is perfectly safe, anecdotal evidence suggests that many mothers would like to reduce the degree of exposure to it and would also welcome the chance to monitor their babies’ heartbeat at home.