A Device for Fetal Monitoring by Means of Control Over Cardiovascular Parameters Based on Acoustic Data

• Published in: Journal of physics. Conference series Vol. 671; no. 1; pp. 12064 - 12067
• Main Authors: Khokhlova, L A, Seleznev, A I, Zhdanov, D S, Zemlyakov, I Yu, Kiseleva, E Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bristol IOP Publishing 18.01.2016
• Subjects: Acoustics; Fetuses; Frequency analysis; Heart rate; Measurement methods; Physics; Telemedicine; Ultrasonic imaging; Womens health
• ISSN: 1742-6588; 1742-6596
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/671/1/012064

The problem of monitoring fetal health is topical at the moment taking into account a reduction in the level of fertile-age women's health and changes in the concept of perinatal medicine with reconsideration of live birth criteria. Fetal heart rate monitoring is a valuable means of assessing fetal health during pregnancy. The routine clinical measurements are usually carried out by the means of ultrasound cardiotocography. Although the cardiotocography monitoring provides valuable information on the fetal health status, the high quality ultrasound devices are expensive, they are not available for home care use. The recommended number of measurement is also limited. The passive and fully non-invasive acoustic recording provides an alternative low-cost measurement method. The article describes a device for fetal and maternal health monitoring by analyzing the frequency and periodicity of heart beats by means of acoustic signal received on the maternal abdomen. Based on the usage of this device a phonocardiographic fetal telemedicine system, which will allow to reduce the antenatal fetal mortality rate significantly due to continuous monitoring over the state of fetus regardless of mother's location, can be built.