A Proposed Phonography-Based Measurement of Fetal Breathing Movement Using Segmented Structures with Frequency Splitting.

This paper proposes a detection method of fetal breathing movement (FBM) as an important data of fetal well-being. To analyze the chaotic nature of the individual episodes, the frequency band has been split into single test frequencies in order to find its starting point (SP) as a signal free (quiet) zone. Computing some features of the signal the sound will be distinguishable from the disturbing signals as hiccups, body's rotation and limb movements or even additional noises of maternal heart beats. The SPs of the episodes are characterized by an approximation process in order to select the real ones.Clinical relevance- The method is an irradiation free measurement, carried out on the maternal abdomen. Furthermore, connected with the fetal phonocardiographic (fPCG) monitoring the method offers a non-invasive way for FBM detection applicable also at home. More than 50 pregnancies were examined with the proposed method for at least for 20-min with synchronous measurements by the proposed phonographic device and a 3D ultrasound machine in the third trimester.