“Fetal monitoring has established itself as an important part of the patient care continuum in the OB environment. It provides continuous, critical information to busy nurses about what’s going on with the mother and the fetus.”
Susan Martin Tucker (MSN, RN, PHN, CNAA) should know. She’s worked in the OB environment since fetal monitors were introduced and authored the first and still most practical text on the subject, Fetal Monitoring and Assessment - St. Louis, Mosby Inc., 2004.
Working smarter
According to Susan, the fetal monitor helps clinical care teams better manage their time with patients. “When first introduced, fetal monitoring was quickly recognized as an indispensable time saver because a nurse could come in and pull out the last 15 minutes of the strip and see what happened to the fetal heart rate over time.”
In 1968, Hewlett-Packard released the first commercially available non-invasive fetal monitor for antepartum and intrapartum use. It soon became an indispensable part of the OB environment. “During the mid 1980s our hospital bought 12 HP monitors,” says Susan, “and we never looked back.”
Tradition of innovation
Hewlett-Packard and Philips innovations have continued steadily:
1972 – Introduction of ultrasonic fetal heart rate tracing
1975 - First compact fetal monitor
1978 – First fetal telemetry system
1986 – First obstetrical data management system
1988 – First optical trace storage system
1990 – Introduction of external ultrasound monitoring for twins
1996 – Introduction of OB TraceVue obstetrical care information management system
2001 – Introduction of a portable fetal monitor
2003 – First cordless transducer system
A new generation
The new Avalon FM30 Intrapartum fetal monitor provides enhanced care from the onset of contractions through labor and delivery. This compact, easy-to-use monitor offers a complete set of external and internal fetal parameters, including:
The Avalon FM30 also monitors maternal heart rate, ECG, pulse oximetry and blood pressure.
Designed for ease of use
The Avalon FM30 offers enhanced user functionality and documentation capabilities. An intuitive touchscreen makes interaction with the unit simple. The large color display can be read easily from a distance.
The Avalon FM30 also features new soft, smooth transducers for monitoring of the fetal heart rate and uterine activity. These transducers are also “smart.” They can be plugged into any available port and automatically recognized by the system.
Data and traces from the Avalon FM30 can be automatically sent to OB TraceVue, the obstetrical care information system, to become part of the overall patient record. This assists clinicians with report writing—allowing more time to focus on patient care.
Indispensable
From the beginning, fetal monitoring has been one of the most important fetal assessment tools. “I think it’s been one of the biggest boons to patient care,” notes Susan Tucker, “because you can get a quick visual reference of several important indices.”