A fetal monitor is a medical device that provides a prenatal monitoring system to measure and graphically display maternal abdominal contractions and fetal heart rate on the screen and on a chart recorder.
This medical device records the amount, intensity level, and duration of contractions, as well as the fetal heart rate.
Nowadays, thanks to technological development, portable fetal monitors are available that allow locating and amplifying the fetal heartbeat, for diagnostic purposes by pulsed Doppler effect, which show the heartbeat signal on the screen.
You should know that fetal monitoring is a fast and non-invasive method used for the evaluation of fetal well-being and fetal hemodynamic parameters, currently constituting an essential and very useful tool for the control of high-risk pregnancies.
How does a portable fetal monitor work?
These equipments evaluate the fetal heartbeat using Doppler ultrasound measurement. As is known, ultrasonic waves propagated at a certain frequency will be reflected if they encounter an obstacle. If the obstacle persists, the return wave will have the same frequency with respect to the transmitted one.
Once the obstacle moves, the frequency of the return wave changes. The greater the displacement of the object, the greater the change in frequency obtained. This is the so-called Doppler effect. With this equipment, the ultrasound probe is placed on the pregnant woman’s belly, and we can obtain important data of the fetal heart rate, since when the transmitted wave meets the heart of the fetus, the return wave will develop a frequency that can displayed. With this rate, it is possible to monitor the fetal heartbeat and its rate.
The ultrasonic sensor is composed of piezoelectric materials, which are characterized by generating an electrical signal when receiving a pressure wave, and by the particularity of vibrating when applying electrical excitation. This ultrasonic transducer has various acoustic characteristics which can be measured; among these are:
- The spatial peak of temporal peak intensity, (Isptp)
- The spatial peak of mean pulse intensity (Isppa)
- The temporal mean intensity spatial peak (Isata)
- Ultrasonic Power (W)
- The intensity of the beam in (cm2)
Fetal Heart Rate Assessment by Portable Fetal Monitor
The baseline fetal heart rate normally oscillates between 110 and 160 beats per minute, we speak of fetal tachycardia when it exceeds 160 and fetal bradycardia when the rate is below 110 beats per minute; These changes are closely linked to the mother’s mood, diet, fetal hypoxia, and medications.
One of the main goals of fetal monitoring is to attempt to assess fetal oxygenation during delivery. Fetal oxygenation encompasses the transfer of oxygen from the environment to the fetus and the fetal physiological response if oxygen transfer is interrupted.
Oxygen is transported from the environment to the fetus via maternal and fetal blood through a pathway that includes the maternal lungs, heart, vessels, uterus, placenta, and umbilical cord. Disruption of the oxygen pathway at one or more points can lead to fetal heart rate decelerations.
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