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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on December 23, 2004
Human Reproduction 2005 20(2):497-500; doi:10.1093/humrep/deh591
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Human Reproduction vol. 20 no. 2 © European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 2004; all rights reserved

Measurement of the speed of sound in follicular fluid

M.J. Gooding1,3, D. Barber2, S.H. Kennedy2 and J.A. Noble1

1 Medical Vision Laboratory, Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PJ and 2 Nuffield Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: gooding{at}robots.ox.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: Measurement of ovarian follicles by ultrasound is common practice in fertility treatment. However, the effect of the speed of sound is not taken into account. We present results from a study aimed at measuring this. METHODS: The speed of sound was measured in samples of follicular fluid aspirated from patients undergoing fertility treatment. The transmitted and received pulses from a single element ultrasound transducer were recorded using a digital oscilloscope for a pulse passed through a sample of the fluid. The distance over which the pulse travelled was known from calibration with pure water. Variation with temperature was investigated in the range 25–45°C. Dependence on ultrasound frequency, patient and time from aspiration were also investigated. RESULTS: The speed of sound in follicular fluid was found to be 1550±3 m/s at 37.3°C using 5.0 MHz ultrasound. The speed varied from 1528±3 m/s at 24.8°C to 1561±3 m/s at 44.8°C. Variation with patient, time and frequency were not detected. CONCLUSION: The speed of sound in follicular fluid at body temperature is 1550 m/s. This small difference from the speed assumed by the ultrasound machine corresponds to the systematic bias in volume measurement evident in previously published results.

Key words: accuracy/follicle/fluid/speed of sound/ultrasound


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