New Way To Listen To Fetal Heartbeats May Be On The Way

There may soon be a new way to listen to fetal heartbeats that provides an alternative to ultrasound. Using blind source separation the infant's heartbeat is isolated from the mother's and other background noises with the Pam device.

The device is the brainchild of Kiwi researcher Dr. Paul Teal of Victoria University. Dompost.co.nz quotes Teal about the Pam device which uses microphones embedded in a wide belt.

"This is more like using the Pinard, the foetal stethoscope that midwives used before the invention of ultrasound, but it's much more reliable and easy to use."

While many believe that ultrasounds are safe for the infant some fear that the energy being put into their bodies can not be healthy. The Pam devise is able to detect the unborn infant's heartbeat at the 18 week stage. Ultrasound works from 12 to 14 weeks. The device has yet to meet with everyone's approval. Midwife Suzanne Miller said that the prototype is more difficult to use than an ultrasound. She said though if it was made smaller it would be a product she was excited about.