Monitoring of the condition of a fetus during labour.

摘要

A system for in vivo monitoring of the presence and concentration of meconium and/or blood in amniotic fluid includes a probe (1) having a flexible body housing an optical cell (11). The probe has at least one aperture (17,18) so that amniotic fluid can enter the cell. A fibre optic cable (10) connects the cell (11) to a spectral analyser (5) and the probe includes shielding means (13) to shield the fibre optic cable from any light scattered by the wall of the uterus or fetus.