115 results about "Fetal monitoring" patented technology

A maternal-fetal monitoring system for use during all stages of pregnancy, including antepartum and intrapartum stages. The maternal-fetal monitoring system of the subject invention comprises (1) a set of sensors; (2) an amplifying/filtering means; (3) a computing means; and (4) a graphical user interface. Accurate clinical data, which can be extracted and provided to the user in real-time using the system of the invention, include without limitation, maternal electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, maternal uterine activity signals (EHG), maternal heart rate, fetal ECG signals, and fetal heart rate. In a preferred embodiment, the maternal-fetal monitoring system of the invention includes an intelligence means, such as a neural network system, to analyze and interpret clinical data for use in clinical diagnosis antepartum, intrapartum and postpartum, as well as delivery strategy.

An optical measuring device having multiple optical paths between one or more light emitters and one or more light detectors and/or providing at least two sets of wavelength of light along at least one path, with a final measurement being produced as a combination of measurements of the sets of wavelengths of light taken along one or more of the optical paths. Features that contribute to increased safety and ease of use include providing (1) a receiving cavity in a proximal end of an insertion rod that holds a free end of a circuit connector to keep it from becoming tangled or snagged, (2) a mechanism to keep the sensor within an introducer tube during storage and insertion and to expose a portion of the sensor only when the sensor is applied to the unborn baby, (3) a tab on the insertion rod to prevent the circuit connector from becoming tangled or snagged within the introducer tube, (4) a rotating feature whereby if a torque applied on the sensor exceeds a first predetermined amount, the sensor rotates, and a disengaging feature whereby the sensor detaches from insertion rod if a pull-off force exceeds a second predetermined amount, the rotating and disengaging features being independent of one another, (5) a circuit connector that includes at least one of the following features: (a) a stiffening member provided at the proximal end to minimize bending, (b) a shielding layer, and (c) at least one slit to increase the flexibility of the circuit connector, and (6) an interface that includes an identification element that is detected by an external circuit only if the circuit connector is connected to the interface. The present invention also pertains to a method of manufacturing a needle that is used in an invasive sensor, and preferably for fetal monitoring, that provides features not heretofore available in conventional sensors.

A wireless fetal and maternal monitoring system includes a fetal sensor unit adapted to receive signals indicative of a fetal heartbeat, the sensor optionally utilizing a Doppler ultrasound sensor. A short-range transmission unit sends the signals indicative of fetal heartbeat to a gateway unit, either directly or via an auxiliary communications unit, in which case the electrical coupling between the short-range transmission unit and the auxiliary communications unit is via a wired connection. The system includes a contraction actuator actuatable upon a maternal uterine contraction, which optionally is a EMG sensor. A gateway device provides for data visualization and data securitization. The gateway device provides for remote transmission of information through a data communication network. A server adapted to receive the information from the gateway device serves to store and process the data, and an interface system to permits remote patient monitoring.

Described herein are fetal and/or maternal monitoring devices, systems and methods using UWB medical radar. These devices and systems may include a UWB sensor providing high-resolution and reliable simultaneous monitoring of multiple indicators of fetal and/or maternal health, such as fetal heart rate, fetal heart rate variability, fetal respiration, fetal gross body movement, maternal contractions, maternal heart rate, maternal respiration, and other derivative parameters during virtually all stages of pregnancy and during delivery. The sensor allows novel collection of physiological data using a single sensor or multiple sensors to develop individual and aggregate normal motion indices for use in determining when departure from normal motion index is indicative of fetal or maternal distress.

Described herein are fetal and/or maternal monitoring devices, systems and methods using UWB medical radar. These devices and systems may include a UWB sensor providing high-resolution and reliable simultaneous monitoring of multiple indicators of fetal and/or maternal health, such as fetal heart rate, fetal heart rate variability, fetal respiration, fetal gross body movement, maternal contractions, maternal heart rate, maternal respiration, and other derivative parameters during virtually all stages of pregnancy and during delivery. The sensor allows novel collection of physiological data using a single sensor or multiple sensors to develop individual and aggregate normal motion indices for use in determining when departure from normal motion index is indicative of fetal or maternal distress.

A system for monitoring a fetus during gestation comprises an input for receiving a plurality of electric signals measured on a surface of a maternal body; and means for providing a fetal electrocardiogram based on the received electric signals and based on an orientation of the fetus, wherein the fetal electrocardiogram represents a projection of a fetal cardiac potential vector according to a predetermined projection direction that is fixed with respect to the fetus. The fetal vector electrocardiogram is projected according to the projection direction. An at least partial representation of a fetal vector electrocardiogram is provided in dependence on the plurality of electric signals and indicative of a time path of an electrical field vector generated by a fetal heart of the fetus.

A fetal monitoring device includes a piezofilm sheet, a first electrode, and a second electrode. A controller is operably connected to the piezofilm sheet, first electrode, and second electrode and receives a biopotential and a piezofilm signal. The controller derives at least one of a maternal heart rate and a uterine activity for the biopotential and derives at least one of a fetal heart rate and fetal motion detection from the piezofilm signal. The controller derives an index of fetal health and operate an indicator to present the derived index of fetal health.

A seamless, smart fetal monitoring garment and methods of using thereof. The system includes a knitted or interwoven garment having a multiplicity of conductive textile electrodes for sensing maternal and fetal electrical vital signals. The maternal and fetal electrical vital signals are selected from a group including maternal heart rate, fetal heart rate and electromyogram (EMG) activities including uterine activities. The method includes wearing the garment, acquiring electrical mixed common, maternal and fetal vital signals from surface region of a pregnant woman, using the plurality of textile electrodes, optimally weighted summing-up the acquired signals, analyzing the summed-up signals to thereby extract the maternal signal and the fetal signal, including determining their heart rates, and including detecting health hazards and in some embodiments, including detecting a uterine contraction sequence suggesting the need to be hospitalized for birth giving.

The invention discloses a method and device for detecting the instant heart rate of a fetus on the basis of a Shanon envelope. The method comprises the steps of collecting the heart sound signals of the fetus; carrying out smoothing and normalization on the collected signals so as to obtain pre-processed signals; calculating the Shanon envelope according to the pre-processed signals, and drawing a Shanon envelope curve; calculating the instant heart rate of the fetus according to the Shanon envelope curve. The method is simple, the result is accurate, and the method can better serve clinic fetal monitoring. The device comprises a data collection unit, a pre-processing unit, a Shanon envelope drawing unit, an instant heart rate calculating unit, a display unit and a printing unit. The device is simple in structure, reliable in performance and convenient to use, and results are displayed directly.

The invention relates to the technical field of medical monitoring, particularly to the field of fetal monitoring, and particularly relates to a method and device for improving the fetal monitoring efficiency. The technical scheme adopted by the invention is as follows: through the real-time analysis on the trend and the characteristic information of a collected CTG (cardiotocography) curve, and in combination with certain preset conditions, when the trend and the characteristic information of the CTG curve meet the conditions, a prompt that the monitoring can be ended is given on a fetal monitoring system. According to the design, the fetal monitoring time can be shortened under the premise of ensuring that a doctor can acquire sufficient trend and characteristic information of the CTG curve, so that the burden on time and energy of medical staff and pregnant women can be alleviated, medical resources can be utilized more effectively, and further, the fetal monitoring efficiency is improved.

An apparatus for detecting a fetal heartbeat includes circuitry to convert acoustic energy representative principally of a maternal heartbeat into a first electrical signal and circuitry to convert acoustic energy representative of a maternal heartbeat and a fetal heartbeat into a second electrical signal. The apparatus also includes circuitry to process the first and second electrical to provide an electrical signal principally representative of the fetal heartbeat and circuitry to determine pitch periods of the signal principally representative of the fetal heart beat.

A system and associated method include an AECG/PCG sensor configured to generate an AECG/PCG signal in response to a monitored fetal heart. The system also includes an US transducer configured to generate an US signal in response to the monitored fetal heart. The system also includes a computer configured to assess the quality of the AECG/PCG signal, and compare the assessed quality of the AECG/PCG signal with a selectable threshold value. The computer is also configured to disable the US transducer and process the AECG/PCG signal to provide a fetal heart rate estimate as long as the assessed quality of the AEC/PCG signal exceeds the selectable threshold value. The computer is also configured to enable the US transducer and process the US signal to provide a fetal heart rate estimate only if the assessed quality of the AEC/PCG signal is equal to or less than the selectable threshold value.

A system for monitoring a brain wave response of a fetus in utero, comprises removably connecting an auditory transducer, including at least one biosensor electrode, producing pulsed auditory sounds to a mother's abdomen to detect brain wave activity in a fetus. The transducer is pulsed with one of rectangular waves and tone pips of a selected frequency to emit pulsed audible sounds at predetermined times. The at least one biosensor electrode, including connected amplifier, detects brain stem auditory responses (BAER) of the fetus. For each pulsed audible sound a series of voltage oscillations corresponding to BAER of the fetus are time-locked to the corresponding audible sound. BAER analog output is converted to BAER digital data. A computer-based QEEG (Quantitative EEG) system improves a signal to noise ratio of the BAER digital data using an adaptive optimum filtering algorithm and analyzes the BAER digital data relative to a reference database.

The embodiment of the invention discloses a fetal monitoring method and a fetal monitoring device, and relates to the technology of electronic medical appliances. The device is convenient for monitoring safety of fetal heart and fetal movement of a fetus. The fetal heart rate monitoring method comprises the following steps: sensing pressure change information caused after a longitudinal wave is transmitted to the sensitive surface of a micro-pressure sensor, wherein the longitudinal wave is generated by the surrounding air pushed by vibration energy of micro-vibration on the maternal abdomen skin surface after a fetal heart sound generated by the fetus is transmitted through amniotic fluid, uterine wall and the maternal abdomen skin; performing amplification, filtration, digital-analog conversion and signal peak value extraction treatments on the pressure change information to obtain the fetal heart rate information; and transmitting the acquired fetal heart rate information to preset electronic equipment. The fetal movement monitoring method comprises the steps of monitoring the vibration of maternal skin by an acceleration sensor, and discriminating fetal movement by operation. The fetal monitoring method and fetal monitoring device are suitable for mobile safety monitoring the fetus.

The invention discloses fetal heart monitoring equipment. The fetal heart monitoring equipment comprises a first communication interface, a data storage unit, a displayer and a data processor, wherein the first communication interface is suitable for being in communication with a fetal heart detector in a first communication mode; the data storage unit is suitable for storing fetal heart data information; the displayer is suitable for displaying the fetal heart data information; the data processor is suitable for receiving a fetal heart data package from the fetal heart detector through the first communication interface, and the fetal heart data information in the fetal heart data package is extracted, stored in the data storage unit and displayed on the displayer. The fetal heart data information comprises fetal heart rate data comprising a fetal heart rate, a self-correlation peak value and/or a peak value compared result, the data processor is used for displaying a heart rate value curve on the displayer according to the fetal heart rate, guide identification is displayed on the displayer according to the self-correlation peak value and/or the peak value compared result, and a user is conveniently guided to move the fetal heart detector. The invention further discloses a fetal heart monitoring system comprising the fetal heart monitoring equipment and a corresponding fetal heart monitoring method.

At present, many researches for using other techniques such as adaptive filtering, singular value decomposition, principal component analysis, a neural network algorithm, ICA, and non-negative blind separation to extract fetal electrocardiosignal (FECG) are reported, but the extraction methods of these techniques suffer a lot of confinements, or are too complex, or need more manual intervention, or are bad in final separation effect. The objective of the invention is to overcome the defects of the conventional FECG extraction methods and provide a hilbert transform based FECG extraction and instant heart rate recognition method which can rapidly and easily acquire FECG and calculate out the fetal instant heart rate by using ECG of a mother abdomen acquired from a FECG database, and can beeasily applied to clinic fetal monitoring.

A system and method is provided for monitoring the fetal position and/or orientation of the fetus of an expectant mother. An acoustic sensor array is positioned over the belly. The pattern of acoustic sensor signals is processed to determine a fetal orientation and/or to determine movement over time of the fetus.