New Mobile App Turns Phones into At-Home Fetal Heart Monitors

Pregnant women often worry about their babies’ health in between doctor’s visits, but a new mobile app can help put them at ease.

Studies show that one in five pregnant women experience perinatal anxiety, which is characterized by intense negative thoughts about their pregnancy.

Those women will soon be able to conduct an ultrasound and receive an accurate fetal heart rate from their mobile phones.

DopFone uses smartphone speakers to emit a low-pitched ultrasound that detects reflected signals of abdominal surface vibrations caused by fetal cardiac activity.

Alex Adams, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Interactive Computing, said he came up with the idea for DopFone as he and his wife, Elise, suffered through two miscarriages.