Method of monitoring cervical dilatation during labor and ultrasound transducer particularly useful in such method

摘要

A method for monitoring cervical dilatation during labor by attaching an ultrasound transmitter and an ultrasound receiver to opposite sides of the cervix and monitoring the input signal to the ultrasound transmitter and the output signals from the ultrasound receiver to provide a measurement of the distance between the transmitter and receiver. The method is characterized in that the ultrasound transmitter produces a divergent ultrasound beam received by the ultrasound receiver. Also provided is an ultrasound transducer device including a clip having a pair of jaws spring-urged to a close position and an ultrasound transducer mounted to one of the jaws, characterized in that the ultrasound transducer has a piezoelectric transmitter surface producing a divergent ultrasound beam.