We developed a fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) system that uses a pair of two-dimensional gradiometers to achieve high signal-to-noise ratio. The gradiometer, which is based on a low-Tc superconducting quantum interference device, detects the gradient of a magnetic field in two orthogonal directions. Gradiometer position is easy to adjust by operating the gantry to drive the cryostat in both the swinging and axial directions. As a result, a fMCG waveform for 25 weeksu27 gestation was measured under an unshielded environment in real time. Moreover, the P and T waves for 25 and 34 weeksu27 gestation, respectively, were obtained by averaging. These results indicate that this two-dimensional gradiometer is one of the most promising techniques for measuring fetal heart rate and diagnosing fetal arrhythmia.
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