Non-Invasive Fetal Electrocardiogram Monitoring Techniques: Potential and Future Research Opportunities in Smart Textiles

Aggarwal, Geetika; Wei, Yang

doi:10.3390/signals2030025

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…A connection between configuration and algorithm performance could not be identified, as the algorithms performed similarly for all five electrode configurations of NInFEA. It appears that more electrodes lead to better results (Aggarwal and Wei 2021). For the ADFECG dataset, we investigated only the originally published configuration, which is not comparable to those of NInFEA due to a different reference electrode location.…”

Section: B1 Pregnancy B2 Labourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings

Jaeger,

Nissen,

Rahm

et al. 2024

Physiol. Meas.

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Objective. Perinatal asphyxia poses a significant risk to neonatal health, necessitating accurate fetal heart rate monitoring for effective detection and management. The current gold standard, cardiotocography, has inherent limitations, highlighting the need for alternative approaches. The emerging technology of non-invasive fetal electrocardiography shows promise as a new sensing technology for fetal cardiac activity, offering potential advancements in the detection and management of perinatal asphyxia. Although algorithms for fetal QRS detection have been developed in the past, only a few of them demonstrate accurate performance in the presence of noise and artifacts. Approach. In this work, we propose Power-MF, a new algorithm for fetal QRS detection combining power spectral density and matched filter techniques. We benchmark Power-MF against three open-source algorithms on two recently published datasets (Abdominal and Direct Fetal ECG Database: ADFECG, subsets B1 Pregnancy and B2 Labour; Non-invasive Multimodal Foetal ECG-Doppler Dataset for Antenatal Cardiology Research: NInFEA). Main results. Our results show that Power-MF outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on ADFECG (B1 Pregnancy: 99.5 % ± 0.5 % F1-score, B2 Labour: 98.0 % ± 3.0 % F1-score) and on NInFEA in three of six electrode configurations by being more robust against noise. Significance. Through this work, we contribute to improving the accuracy and reliability of fetal cardiac monitoring, an essential step toward early detection of perinatal asphyxia with the long-term goal of reducing costs and making prenatal care more accessible.

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Section: B1 Pregnancy B2 Labourmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings

Jaeger,

Nissen,

Rahm

et al. 2024

Physiol. Meas.

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“…The maternal and fetal signals are superimposed: the fetal cardiac signal is indirect, and the size of the fetal heart is much smaller than that of the mother. Given that the maternal electrical signals are approximately 10 times stronger than those of the fetus, and that additional sources of electrical noise from maternal muscle activity, uterine contractions, and external electrical interference can further complicate signal clarity, rigorous denoising and maintaining an adequate signal-to-noise ratio are critical for accurately detecting fetal ECG R-peaks 55 …”

Section: Current Antenatal Fetal Heart Rate Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antenatal Noninvasive Fetal Electrocardiography: A Literature Review

Pegorie,

Liu,

Thilaganathan

et al. 2024

Maternal Fetal Med

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Fetal heart rate (FHR) monitoring is one of the central parts of obstetric care. Ultrasound-based technologies such as cardiotocography (CTG) remain the most common method for FHR monitoring. The CTG’s limitations, including subjective interpretation, high interobserver variability, and the need for skilled professionals, led to the development of computerized CTG (cCTG). While cCTG demonstrated advantages, its superiority over visual interpretation remains inconclusive. This has prompted the exploration of alternatives like noninvasive fetal electrocardiography (NIFECG). This review explores the landscape of antenatal FHR monitoring and the need for remote FHR monitoring in a patient-centered care model. Additionally, FHR monitoring needs to evolve from the traditional approach to incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning. The review underscores the importance of aligning fetal monitoring with modern healthcare, leveraging artificial intelligence algorithms for accurate assessments, and enhancing patient engagement. The physiology of FHR variability (FHRV) is explained emphasizing its significance in assessing fetal well-being. Other measures of FHRV and their relevance are described. It delves into the promising realm of NIFECG, detailing its history and recent technological advancements. The potential advantages of NIFECG are objective FHR assessment, beat-to-beat variability, patient comfort, remote prolonged use, and less signal loss with increased maternal body mass index. Despite its promise, challenges such as signal loss must be addressed. The clinical application of NIFECG, its correlation with cCTG measures, and ongoing technological advancements are discussed. In conclusion, this review explores the evolution of antenatal FHR monitoring, emphasizing the potential of NIFECG in providing reliable, home-based monitoring solutions. Future research directions are outlined, urging longitudinal studies and evidence generation to establish NIFECG’s role in enhancing fetal well-being assessments during pregnancy.

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“…The most feasible solution is thus a measuring device in the form of an adjustable wearable belt with incorporated measurement probes. However, there were also been attempts for the measurement of the signals using smart textiles [ 87 ]. Materials used – besides demands on the quality of the signal being sensed, the wearable system should also comply with requirements for the patient’s safety and comfort.…”

Section: Future Prospects In Pregnancy Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Prospects In Pregnancy Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pregnancy in the time of COVID-19: towards Fetal monitoring 4.0

Kahánková

Barnova

Jaroš

et al. 2023

BMC Pregnancy Childbirth

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On the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, high-risk and vulnerable groups in the population were at particular risk of severe disease progression. Pregnant women were one of these groups. The infectious disease endangered not only the physical health of pregnant women, but also their mental well-being. Improving the mental health of pregnant women and reducing their risk of an infectious disease could be achieved by using remote home monitoring solutions. These would allow the health of the mother and fetus to be monitored from the comfort of their home, a reduction in the number of physical visits to the doctor and thereby eliminate the need for the mother to venture into high-risk public places. The most commonly used technique in clinical practice, cardiotocography, suffers from low specificity and requires skilled personnel for the examination. For that and due to the intermittent and active nature of its measurements, it is inappropriate for continuous home monitoring. The pandemic has demonstrated that the future lies in accurate remote monitoring and it is therefore vital to search for an option for fetal monitoring based on state-of-the-art technology that would provide a safe, accurate, and reliable information regarding fetal and maternal health state. In this paper, we thus provide a technical and critical review of the latest literature and on this topic to provide the readers the insights to the applications and future directions in fetal monitoring. We extensively discuss the remaining challenges and obstacles in future research and in developing the fetal monitoring in the new era of Fetal monitoring 4.0, based on the pillars of Healthcare 4.0.

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Non-Invasive Fetal Electrocardiogram Monitoring Techniques: Potential and Future Research Opportunities in Smart Textiles

Cited by 9 publications

References 95 publications

Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings

Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings

Antenatal Noninvasive Fetal Electrocardiography: A Literature Review

Pregnancy in the time of COVID-19: towards Fetal monitoring 4.0

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