The Influence of Visual Aids on Detecting Early and Late Decelerations in Maternal-Fetal Heart Rate Patterns

摘要

The present study examined how well individuals could differentiate between two different typesof signals (early and late decels) in maternal-fetal heart rate tracings with and without the use ofa visual aid. Twenty-one undergraduates twice viewed 80 simulated images under four differentsignal-to-noise (S/N) ratios. Further, the late decels were delayed in 4-sec increments. In oneblock of trials, the images were presented without a visual aid, and in the other block a visual aidconsisting of a large turquoise crosshair was overlaid on the images. The results indicated thatlower S/N ratios and shorter onset delays made signals more difficult to distinguish. However,overall levels of accuracy were significantly higher when the visual aid was present. Theseresults provide initial evidence that utilizing visual aids can enhance the ability to detect criticalsignals in maternal-fetal heart rate patterns.