Development of a non-invasive point of care diagnostic tool for fetal monitoring using electrical impedance based approach

Abstract

Feto- maternal monitoring is essential to assess fetal health throughout the pregnancy and during labor. Fetal ECG, uterine contraction, fetal movements, growth of the fetus, amniotic fluid volume and position of placenta are some of the important parameters to assess fetus health. Cardiotocogram (CTG) and Ultrasound are widely used for monitoring feto-maternal physiological and morphological parameters. Despite their scientific perfection and use, these methods cause some degree of inconvenience to the patient and demand special attendance of the obstetrician. The ultrasonic techniques are not suitable for prolonged bedside monitoring. We hypothesize that an appropriate and affordable, continuous, non- invasive, ambulatory feto-maternal monitoring system during labor and pregnancy is essential for better pregnancy outcome. Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) proposed, can give continuous monitoring of both physiological and morphological parameters. The preliminary work has already been done on the various phantoms and on human beings. © 2013 IEEE.