HEALTH NOTES: Pregnant women can now check up on their babies with DIY ultrasound – using their phones
Pregnant women can now check up on their babies with a smartphone device.
The handheld tool, developed by Israeli company PulseNmore, allows women to perform ultrasounds at home, then send the scans to their doctor or specialist medical staff to receive feedback.
Initial studies show that the device detected heart beats and amniotic fluid – the protective liquid that surrounds a growing baby – in 95 per cent of cases.
Pregnant women can now check up on their babies with a smartphone device. The handheld tool, developed by Israeli company PulseNmore, allows women to perform ultrasounds at home, then send the scans to their doctor or specialist medical staff to receive feedback
The ultrasound device clips into the base of a smartphone.
The patient applies a gel to her stomach and rolls the scanning probe over the area.
A scan is beamed directly on to the patient’s smartphone as they move the probe, showing the foetus inside.
Just a third of adults in UK are able to name three main symptoms of coronavirus
Only a third of British adults are able to name the three main symptoms of coronavirus, a survey suggests (pictured, travellers from France, August 15, 2020)
Only a third of British adults are able to name the three main symptoms of coronavirus, a survey suggests.
Anyone with a high temperature or fever, a new continuous cough, or loss or change to their sense of smell and taste is currently advised to get tested and self-isolate until a result comes through.
Eight out of ten people correctly identified two out of three of these key symptoms.
But just 31 per cent knew all three, according to the survey of more than 2,200 adults aged 16 to 75 by King’s College London.
Women are provided with guidance by a special app throughout the scan.
Eyes reveal past trauma
Eye can reveal past trauma, a new study suggests.
The pupils in our eyes grow bigger when we’re scared – part of the flight-fight response, a set of automatic physiological changes that occur when we sense danger.
The pulse, blood pressure and breathing rate increase, readying the body for action.
And it’s thought the pupils dilate to let in more light, boosting vision.
But experts at Cardiff University found that the eyes of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) behave differently.
When they were shown threatening images, such as pictures of vicious animals, their pupils grew much bigger than those of people without the condition.
Experts believe this test could help diagnose those suffering from PTSD.
Opera’s reflux reflex
Fancy your chances as the next Pavarotti?
You may want to spare a thought for your digestion first.
A study of 30 singing students found almost all of them had signs of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease – triggered by stomach acid travelling up towards the throat, causing heartburn – compared to less than a third of non-singers.
A special saliva test was used in the study to diagnose reflux disease.
Exactly why opera singers are at a higher risk is not clear.
But experts suspect that singing can put a strain on the digestive tract, weakening the muscle that stops stomach acid travelling upwards.
The findings were published in the journal Medicine Pharmacy Reports.
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