Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 15, Issue 6 465-473, Copyright © 1996 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Evaluation of umbilical venous blood flow by Doppler color flow mapping and conventional ultrasonographic methods
T. Kohl and N. H. Silverman
Pediatric Echocardiographic Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco 94143, USA.
Ultrasonographic measurement of umbilical venous blood flow as a reflection
of placental blood flow has been used for assessment of fetal well-being.
Because fetal and maternal factors may prevent satisfactory measurement of
umbilical venous diameter and flow velocity, an alternative method would be
helpful. We found that, in 35 human fetuses between 18 and 35 weeks of
gestation, that both variables for umbilical venous flow calculation can be
measured from a single Doppler color frame with close measurement agreement
to conventional combined cross-sectional pulsed Doppler ultrasonographic
measurements. Thus, this method provides an alternative to the conventional
method or may be used for a cross-check and has the potential for automated
flow calculation.
