Fetal blood velocity waveforms.

In this paper a method is described for obtaining and characterizing fetal blood velocity waveforms. The signals were recorded with a range-gated Doppler instrument and characterized after spectral analysis. Preliminary observations indicate differences in the waveforms obtained during normal pregnancies compared with some complicated pregnancies.

A readout for pulsed Doppler velocity meters.

The use of the pulsed Doppler velocity meter in cardiovascular applications has been restricted, due in part to difficulties in experimental usage of the device and systematic errors in signal processing, leading to inaccurate results. These problems have been alleviated by a multiparameter readout which provides information on the position of the sample region with respect to surrounding tissues in an M-mode type display, and a first moment Doppler frequency shift output capable of following the rapid velocity fluctuations which occur in disturbed flow conditions. The use of the readout in obtaining blood velocity measurements from within the human heart is demonstrated with representative examples of output for various clinical situations.

Nontraumatic aortic blood flow sensing by use of an ultrasonic esophageal probe.

The measurement of blood velocity fields, volume flow, and arterial wall motion in the descending thoracic aorta provides essential hemodynamic information for both research and clinical diagnosis. The close proximity of the esophagus to the aorta in the dog makes it possible to obtain such data nonsurgically using an ultrasonic esophageal probe; however, the accuracy of such a probe is limited if the angle between the sound beam and the flow axis, known as the Doppler angle, is not precisely known. By use of a pulsed Doppler velocity meter (PUDVM) and a triangulation procedure, accurate empirical measurement of the Doppler angle has been obtained, allowing quantification of blood velocity scans across the aorta. Volume flow is obtained by integration of blood velocity profiles and arterial wall motion is measured with an ultrasonic echo tracking device. Accuracy of the probe was substantiated by comparison with ultrasonic and electromagnetic implanted flow cuff measurements. Use of the probe in measurement of blood velocity, volume flow and arterial wall motion at various locations along the 8- and 10-cm length of the descending thoracic aorta in adult beagle dogs is detailed. The simplicity, accuracy, and nontraumatic aspect of the technique should allow increasing use of such a probe in numerous research and clinical applications.