Thursday, May 17, 2012

Fetal Monitoring? There's an app for that

Ugandan Students Win Award For Pregnancy Scan Machine:

WinSenga is made of a traditional funnel-like pinard horn which midwives and gynecologists typically use to listen to fetal sounds. The horn is connected to a smart phone by an external microphone which is strategically placed at the flat end of the horn. According to information available on Makerere’s website, the phone contains an application that has a sound recording module and sound analysis module which will produce a report detailing the position of the baby during the different trimesters, the age of the baby and the fetal heart rate. When the horn is pressed on the abdomen, the phone screen displays data on the condition and location of the fetus.

Note use of the word "baby".

Whether or not the Winsenga wins the international competition, its founders intend to make the invention commercially available after July. According to Tushabe, the device will retail at $3,000 apiece.

I wonder if Western Hospitals would have any use for this device. One advantage that I see to this device is that it's pretty compact. Doppler does the same thing, but it doesn't produce reports or tell the age of the unborn child.