P1_7 Foetal Ultrasound Imaging Safety in Early Pregnancy

Abstract

This article discusses the temperature increase of foetal soft tissue due to diagnostic ultrasound scans taken during the early stages of pregnancy. It is found that for standard foetal ultrasound frequencies of 3MHz-5MHz, cell development in the foetal tissue is only affected after scans lasting 600-1000s. Transducer motion is considered and it is demonstrated that the time a small piece of foetal tissue will be exposed to ultrasound heating for is unlikely to be this high. Therefore, it is concluded that there is no danger to the foetus due to heating by standard diagnostic foetal ultrasound imaging.