DOES PULSED-DOPPLER ULTRASOUND HAVE MUTAGENIC EFFECTS - APPLICATION OF THE AMES MUTAGENICITY ASSAY TO TEST PULSED-DOPPLER EQUIPMENT

Measurement of fetal blood flow has been accepted using pulsed‐Doppler ultrasound. Until recently, there has been a lack of investigations concerning the potential risks of this method. The possible mutagenic effect of a pulsed‐Doppler system was examined in vitro by applying the Ames test. Tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium indicating point mutations were irradiated (TA 98, TA 100, TA 102, TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 1538). A commercially available duplex system was applied in the experiments emitting an ultrasound beam with a spatial‐peak temporal‐average of 5.2 mW/cm2 and a spatial‐peak temporal‐peak of 117 mW/cm2 at a frequency of 2 MHz. The tester strains were sonicated up to 60 minutes, the bacterial suspension being in direct contact with the transducer surface. The ultrasound‐exposed bacterial suspensions were compared with nonexposed samples. Reference mutagens were used for checking the sensitivity of the system. The results do not indicate any mutagenic effects. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved