title: The application of spectrophotometry in the investigation of amniotic fluid by amnioscopy. part I. development of the technique.
abstract: A method for the incorporation of spectrophotometry to amnioscopy for the colourmetric estimation of amniotic fluid is presented. The spectrum of light reflected from the object under examination was measured using narrow-band interference filters, and a siliceous PIN light diode as the detector. A graphical representation of the spectrum was obtained using an automatic recorder. The preliminary measurements were performed using papers of various colours, clear amniotic fluid and green fluid as well as two patients in late pregnancy who required amnioscopic investigation. Measurements have shown that the apparatus can reliably distinguish different colours from each other and the authors consider that the apparatus may be used in connection with amnioscopy in order to estimate the colour of the amniotic fluid. The possible future use and development of such a technique is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D020669:Fetoscopes; D005332:Fetoscopy; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*