7 Healthcast: Ultrasound

Six-month-old Connor Sherwood had heart surgery. An ultrasound showed the first signs of trouble when his mom was five months pregnant.

"His lungs and heart weren't connected and that he had a very large hole in the middle of his heart," said Connor's mom, Erin Sherwood.

She says the defect was caught using a new computer software program that makes it simple for a doctor or ultrasound technician to get six vital views of a baby's heart from one simple 3D picture.

Gynecologist Dr. Alfred Abuhamad says the program has potential to save an untold number of lives.

"Most babies that are born with congenital heart disease are born to mothers without risk factors," Dr. Abuhamad said.

But he says when doctors know ahead of time, they can plan. A team of experts was waiting for Connor in the delivery room.

"If not for the sonogram, they wouldn't have known to put Connor on some medication when he was first born and wouldn't have known the track to go and he probably wouldn't have survived," Sherwood said.

Instead, this wide-eyed child has the chance to look up and see what the future holds.

Dr. Abuhamad says the ultrasound should be available to obstetricians within a year.

There's more good news- the software used could also be tweaked and used for adult hearts, thyroids, or any other ultrasound.

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