"Instead of having patients travel to where the technology is, have the technology travel to the patients."ĭr. Kevin Gomez, a specialist in maternal fetal medicine at Atlanta Perinatal Associates, Atlanta, GA. "I think the portability of this technology will make it very useful," said Dr. The device is as easy to use as tuning a radio, which one doctor considers essential to its ultimate success. In its present form, an at-home patient would strap a wide, soft belt embedded with sensors over her belly, tune a computerized control device to hear the fetal heartbeat and send the signal directly to her doctor's office via the Internet. For several reasons, when expectant mothers do not receive necessary prenatal care, the result is often increased fetal mortality. NASA developed the portable technology at the suggestion of a medical doctor in a remote area that suffers from a lack of appropriate health care. "Because the material we used for wing surface measurements is flexible, it is ideally suited to fit over the curved surface of a maternal abdomen for fetal testing," said Allan Zuckerwar of Langley's Advanced Measurement and Diagnostics Branch.Ĭurrent fetal heart-monitoring devices generally work well but cost many thousands of dollars and can only be used in a clinic or doctor's office. NASA granted the company a license to market one or more commercial products based on the technology. What's more, it "listens, documents and stores" fetal heart-rate data without injecting energy into the womb, making it totally non-invasive.Ī team of aerospace researchers from NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, worked with Veatronics, Inc., of Charlotte, NC, to convert the technology to this innovative medical application. The new clinically proven fetal heart monitor takes advantage of aerospace technology to make it more affordable, portable and easy to use by expectant mothers in their own homes. A NASA technology originally used to measure airflow over airplane wings has been successfully used to develop a portable, non-invasive, easy-to-use fetal heart monitor.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |