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Review
. 2017 Dec 22:5:82.
doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2017.00082. eCollection 2017.

Fetal Cardiac Doppler Signal Processing Techniques: Challenges and Future Research Directions

Saeed Abdulrahman Alnuaimi  1 , Shihab Jimaa  1 , Ahsan H Khandoker  2
Affiliations
Review

Fetal Cardiac Doppler Signal Processing Techniques: Challenges and Future Research Directions

Saeed Abdulrahman Alnuaimi et al. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. .

Abstract

The fetal Doppler Ultrasound (DUS) is commonly used for monitoring fetal heart rate and can also be used for identifying the event timings of fetal cardiac valve motions. In early-stage fetuses, the detected Doppler signal suffers from noise and signal loss due to the fetal movements and changing fetal location during the measurement procedure. The fetal cardiac intervals, which can be estimated by measuring the fetal cardiac event timings, are the most important markers of fetal development and well-being. To advance DUS-based fetal monitoring methods, several powerful and well-advanced signal processing and machine learning methods have recently been developed. This review provides an overview of the existing techniques used in fetal cardiac activity monitoring and a comprehensive survey on fetal cardiac Doppler signal processing frameworks. The review is structured with a focus on their shortcomings and advantages, which helps in understanding fetal Doppler cardiogram signal processing methods and the related Doppler signal analysis procedures by providing valuable clinical information. Finally, a set of recommendations are suggested for future research directions and the use of fetal cardiac Doppler signal analysis, processing, and modeling to address the underlying challenges.

Keywords: fetal Doppler; fetal cardiac intervals; fetal cardiology; fetal heart rate; fetal monitoring; signal processing.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Available fetal cardiac DUS literature in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, ScienceDirect, and PubMed databases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Simultaneously captured DUS and fetal electrocardiogram signals over a period of 2.5 s. The arrows indicate the high-frequency component of the DUS signal.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The opening and closing timings of the fetal aortic and mitral valves in relation to the fetal electrocardiogram (Khandoker et al., 2010).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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