A Hybrid Intelligent System for the Pre-processing of Fetal Heart Rate Signals in Antenatal Testing

摘要

The Non-Stress Test (NST) is a non-invasive test widely used in obste to assess the fetal state by means of the analysis of Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) and Uterine Pressure (UP) Signals. NST-EXPERT is an expert system designed for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis of fetal state using the NST. NST-EXPERT uses the information extracted from the FHR/UP signals together with information regarding the maternal-fetal context. However, the acquisition of the parameters related to the signals was not automated yet. In achieving this task, the poor quality that the FHR signal presents very often, due to the presence of artifacts and maternal heart rate (MHR) coupling,needs to be faced. In this paper, a hybrid system capable of distinguish between artfacts. MHR and fetal signal to eliminate incorrect data that interfere in the analysis is described.