Detection of Fetal Heart Activity During Early Pregnancy by Combined B‐Scan and Doppler Examination: A New Application

Abstract

99 pregnant women, 5 to 1 1 weeks, were examined by a combined ultrasonic B-scan and Doppler method to detect fetal heart activity. The fetus was localized accurately by B-scanning and the heart activity was detected through the mother's abdominal wall with 100% certainty at eight weeks of pregnancy (menstrual age). The earliest fetal heart activity detected was in a pregnancy which dated 44 days from the last menstrual period. Positive findings were recorded on tape and photographed from the oscilloscope screen.

Clinical and Ultrasonic Aspects in the Diagnosis and Follow‐Up of Patients with Early Pregnancy Failure

“…During the last ten years, the ultrasonic methods have attained a central role in the diagnosis of problems in early pregnancy. The detection of the gestation sac in the uterus from the 6th week onwards (4), the reliable diagnosis of fetal life signs in the 8th-10th week (9,15,17), and the differentiation of the pathologic forms of early pregnancy from the normal ones (20), which have been rendered possible by these methods, have opened up entirely new possibilities for the clinician in solving the problems considered here. After that the main task is to predict the subsequent prognosis of the pregnancy.…”