SEMINAR-2

Determination of fetal heart

rate from abdominal signals
Team Members

Akshaya Karthick.K
VTU: ### VTU: 11439
Biomedical Engg Biomedical Engg
MENTOR

Faculty Name
Assistant Professor
Dept Of Biomedical Engineering
Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&d Institute Of Science
And Technology
What is Fetal Monitoring
and Why is it necessary?
What is Fetal Monitoring
Fetal heart rate monitoring measures the heart rate and
rhythm of the baby (fetus). This lets the healthcare
provider see how the baby is doing. The healthcare
provider may do fetal heart monitoring during late
pregnancy and labor. The average fetal heart rate is
between 110 and 160 beats per minute.
Why Fetal Monitoring is necessary?
If you have a high-risk pregnancy or are having your
labor induced or augmented with medication, you'll
likely be hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor
continuously throughout labor. If your pregnancy is
low-risk and you go into labor spontaneously, your
baby's heart rate may only be monitored intermittently.
Introduction
The main aim of our work was to assess the reliability of indirect abdominal electrocardiography as an alternative to
the commonly used Doppler ultrasound monitoring technique. As a reference method, we used direct fetal
electrocardiography. Direct and abdominal signals were acquired simultaneously, using dedicated instrumentation. The
developed method of maternal signal suppression as well as fetal QRS complexes detection was presented. Recordings
were collected during established labors, each consisted of four signals from the maternal abdomen and the reference
signal acquired directly from the fetal head. After assessing the performance of the QRS detector, the accuracy of fetal
heart rate measurement was evaluated. Additionally, to reduce the influence of inaccurately detected R-waves, some
validation rules were proposed. The obtained results revealed that the indirect method is able to provide an accuracy
sufficient for a reliable assessment of fetal heart rate variability. However, the method is very sensitive to recording
conditions, influencing the quality of signals. Our investigations confirmed that abdominal electrocardiography, even
in its current stage of development, offers an accuracy equal to or higher than an ultrasound method, at the same time
providing some additional features.
How is external and internal monitoring is
performed?
External
A pair of belts is wrapped
around your abdomen. One belt
uses Doppler to detect the fetal
heart rate. The other belt
measures the length of
contractions and the time
between them.
Internal
electrode is placed on the part of the fetus
closest to the cervix, usually the scalp and its
records the heart rate. Uterine contractions
monitored by intrauterine pressure catheter that
is inserted through the vagina into your uterus.
Internal monitoring can be used only after the
membranes of the amniotic sac have ruptured.
Fetal monitoring is when your
healthcare practitioner and
nurse keep tabs on your baby's
heart rate during labor. They do
this to check how fetal is doing
and see how fetal tolerating
mother’s contractions.
The monitoring is typically done with one of these
devices:
 An electronic fetal monitor

 A handheld Doppler device (like the one your

caregiver used to listen to your baby during your
prenatal visits), or
 A stethoscope-like device called a fetoscope
A picture is worth a
thousand words

A complex idea can be

conveyed with just a single still
image, namely making it
possible to absorb large
amounts of data quickly.
Thanks!