Volume 8, Number 3     May/June 2000

NASA Technology Monitors Tiny Hearts

A NASA technology originally used to measure airflow over airplane wings has been successfully used to develop a portable, noninvasive, easy-to-use fetal heart monitor. Researchers from NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, worked with Veatronics, Inc., of Charlotte, North Carolina, to convert the technology to this innovative medical application. NASA granted the company a license to market one or more commercial products based on the technology.

"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.

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. It monitors, documents and stores fetal heart-rate data without injecting energy into the womb, making it totally noninvasive. Current fetal heart-monitoring devices generally work well, but they cost thousands of dollars and can only be used in a clinical setting.

Langley developed the portable technology at the suggestion of a medical doctor in a remote area that suffers from a lack of health care. For a number of reasons, expectant mothers who do not receive necessary prenatal care often suffer increased fetal mortality. In its present form, an at-home patient would strap a wide, soft belt embedded with sensors over her stomach, tune a computerized control device to hear the fetal heartbeat and send the signal directly to her doctor's office via the Internet.

A series of NASA-sponsored clinical trials were recently completed at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Clinical trials were also sponsored at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia, and at Encino/Tarzana Medical Center in Encino, California. The trials are expected to establish that the acoustic monitor meets federal Food and Drug Administration guidelines. The results are being compared to those recorded via Doppler ultrasound and scalp-electrode monitors, as well as to standard accepted measurements.

The Morehouse trials show that the technology offers an easy-to-use alternative to visiting a doctor's office. This is especially important for high-risk patients who should be examined often, patients who cannot easily travel, those who cannot afford the time or money for periodic trips to the doctor or those who are required to undergo long periods of bed rest.

The new method of checking fetal heart behavior might actually prove to be a better way of monitoring some pregnancies than technologies now in use. In addition, the system could provide objective data to complement information gained from other methods.

A new, clinically proven fetal heart monitor takes advantage of aerospace technology converted by researchers from Langley Research Center and Veatronics, Inc., and makes it possible for expectant mothers to monitor their unborn baby's heartbeat at home. (Photo supplied by Langley Research Center)

For more information, contact Sherry Sullivan at Langley Research Center. 757/864-2556, s.l.sullivan@larc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.