Detection and analysis of fetal movements by ultrasonic multi-sensor Doppler (ACTIFOETUS)

The major objective for fetal ultrasonic monitoring of pregnancies is to recognize pathological conditions with sufficient warning to enable intervention by the clinician before the occurrence of irreversible fetal lesions. For that purpose we developed a multi detector and multigate Doppler system for the study of fetal movements and fetal rhythms in high risk pregnancies. Three methods of signal and data processing have been evaluated for the analysis of ultrasonic Doppler signals generated by the movements of fetal structures: fast Fourier transform (FFT) autocorrelation function (ACF) and independent component analysis (ICA). Preliminary results obtained in 15 normal pregnancies (32-35 weeks) are shown. Recording duration for each examination was between 15 and 20 minutes.