On-line processing of perinatal fetal heart rate and intra-uterine pressure

A PC-based, custom designed, digital signal processing unit was added to a commercially available, clinically used Fetal Monitoring System. In this system, the Intra-Uterine Pressure related Tocotransducer has been replaced by a newly developed oil-filled transducer. The Fetal Heart Rate and the Intra-Uterine Pressure related signal are digitized and processed by a Fetal Monitoring Environment on the PC. This processing yields the on-line values of a set of predefined clinical parameters, describing specific characteristics of both signals and their interaction. This information is presented both graphically and numerically in a user-friendly environment. The setup aims to enhance the diagnostic value of a Fetal Monitoring System by retrieving more, more selective, and more quantitative information from Fetal Heart Rate and Intra-Uterine Pressure signals.