Pregnancy monitoring system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11253231-B2
Application number	US-201716082699-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2017
Priority date	Mar 31, 2016
Publication date	Feb 22, 2022
Grant date	Feb 22, 2022

Abstract

The present invention relates to a pregnancy monitoring system, the system comprising a fetal monitoring transducer (20) arranged to detect fetal medical condition information; and a control device (48) comprising a motion assessment unit (50) and a signal output unit (52); wherein the fetal monitoring transducer (20) is arranged to detect fetal movement indicative information, wherein the motion assessment unit (50) is arranged to process fetal movement grading information, in addition to the fetal movement indicative information, wherein the signal output unit (52) is arranged to simultaneously output a fetal condition signal, particularly a fetal heart rate signal, and an augmented fetal movement signal based on the fetal movement indicative information and the fetal movement grading information, wherein a characteristic property of the original fetal movement information is still present in the augmented fetal movement signal. The disclosure further relates to a corresponding pregnancy monitoring method.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cardiotocographic pregnancy monitoring system, comprising:
a fetal monitoring transducer arranged to detect fetal medical condition information and comprising at least one ultrasound sensor;
a control device comprising a motion assessment unit and a signal output unit;
a maternal monitoring transducer comprising at least one tocodynamometer transducer; and
a motion evaluation unit comprising a first motion verification transducer being associated with the fetal monitoring transducer and a second motion verification transducer being associated with the maternal monitoring transducer;
wherein the fetal monitoring transducer is arranged to detect fetal movement indicative information,
wherein the motion assessment unit is arranged to process, in addition to the fetal movement indicative information, fetal movement grading information by determining relative motion between the first motion verification transducer and the second motion verification transducer, wherein the fetal movement grading information is dependent on an actual level of relative motion and is indicative of a movement quality state,
wherein the fetal movement grading information includes a plurality of reliability levels of the fetal movement indicative information, wherein a first reliability level of the plurality of reliability levels corresponds to a distorted fetal movement identified in the fetal movement indicative information and a second reliability level of the plurality of reliability levels corresponds to an undistorted fetal movement identified in the fetal movement indicative information,
wherein the maternal monitoring transducer is arranged to detect maternal medical condition information,
wherein the motion assessment unit processes the fetal movement grading information based on a motion verification signal provided by the motion evaluation unit, and
wherein the signal output unit is arranged to simultaneously output:
a fetal condition signal,
a maternal condition signal, and
an augmented fetal movement signal based on the fetal movement indicative information and the fetal movement grading information, wherein a characteristic property of the fetal movement indicative information is still present in the augmented fetal movement signal, wherein the augmented fetal movement signal represents the plurality of reliability levels of the fetal movement indicative information to simultaneously display the plurality of reliability levels in relation to the characteristic property of the fetal movement indicative information.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the augmented fetal movement signal involves a base portion including a binary signal indicating a presence of fetal movement substantially based on the fetal movement indicative information detected by the fetal monitoring transducer, and an augmentation portion indicating a signal quality level of the base portion.

3. The system as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the augmented fetal movement signal is a ternary signal or a tertiary signal arranged to assume three states in including a movement state, a non-movement state, and a potentially distorted signal state, and wherein the motion assessment unit determines at least the potentially distorted signal state.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the signal output unit is arranged to provide a simultaneous visual reading of the fetal condition signal, a uterine activity signal, and the augmented fetal movement signal, and wherein the augmented fetal movement signal involves a block representation of a presence of fetal movements and a grading signal based on the fetal movement grading information.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the grading signal is an embedded grading signal and includes at least one of a color change of the block representation, a pattern variation of the block representation, a shape change of the block representation, and a magnitude change of the block representation.

6. The system as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the grading signal includes a parallel trace presented in the vicinity of the block representation and in synchronism therewith.

7. The system as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the grading signal is one of a binary signal, and a multi-level signal arranged to assume a number of states that is greater than 2.

8. The system as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the grading signal is a block signal.

9. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first motion verification transducer and the second motion verification transducer are arranged as motion sensor units involving motion sensors, and wherein the motion evaluation unit detects relative motion between a first motion sensor unit and a second motion sensor unit based on motion signals supplied by at least one first motion sensor of the first motion sensor unit and at least one second motion sensor of the second motion sensor unit.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fetal movement grading information is further indicative at least one of maternal activity, transducer shifting, delayed inertia fetal movement, or characteristic small scale fetal activities.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the fetal condition signal is a fetal heart rate signal.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the maternal condition signal is a uterine activity signal.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Schmitt Lars
• Van De Laar Jakob
• Wohlschlager Markus
• Kaiser Winfried Peter

Classifications

• A61B5/721 Primary

  using a separate sensor to detect motion or using motion information derived from signals other than the physiological signal to be measured · CPC title

• A61B8/4416

  related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities, e.g. combination of ultrasound and X-ray acquisitions · CPC title

• A61B5/4362

  Assessing foetal parameters · CPC title

• A61B5/1107

  Measuring contraction of parts of the body, e.g. organ or muscle · CPC title

• A61B8/02

  Measuring pulse or heart rate · CPC title