SEBAN
Wearable pregnancy monitoring with fetal electrocardiogram
Constant pregnancy monitoring is a promising alternative to reduce the number of stillbirths and preterm delivery due to false alarms. Telemonitoring systems can provide regular, accurate and timely monitoring to reduce risks, costs and the time the mothers-to-be spend in hospitals. A smart garment integrated with sensors and a flexible printed circuit board for ambulatory pregnancy monitoring was proposed. This system includes low-power hardware and software for accurate and robust detection of Electrocardiography (ECG), from both the foetus and the mother, and Electrohysterography (EHG).
This project was part of the Smart Energy Body Area Networks (SEBAN) project. This was a joint collaboration between hardware engineers, biomedical engineers, industrial designers, and medical doctors affiliated both in the academy and the industry. Partners included the Maxima Medisch Centrum in Eindhoven, Philips, Imec, and the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Result
The main page was redesigned considering the found issues. The final wearable provided a good fit for multiple types and sizes of pregnant bellies. At the same time, the electrode position and the electrode board were designed to minimize misplacement and size; and increase wearability, measurement accuracy, and battery duration.
Method
A study was conducted to gather user requirements to ensure comfort and medical soundness during long registrations of Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) and Electrohysterogram (EHG).
Based on those requirements, several garment alternatives for the monitoring system are proposed and evaluated.
The garment was designed and evaluated iteratively. This required exploring multiple fabrics, wearable types, and Printed Circuit Board Shapes.
Resulting academic publications and presentations
| Perusquía-Hernández, M., Chen, W., Feijs, L., “Garment Design for an Ambulatory Pregnancy Monitoring System. Ambient Assisted Living and Daily Activities”, Proceedings of the 6th International Work-Conference, IWAAL 2014, pp. 219-227, 8 pages. 2014. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-13105-4_33 | Download Cite |
| Perusquía-Hernández, M., Chen, W., Feijs, L., “Textile-Integrated Electronics for Ambulatory Pregnancy Monitoring”. Book chapter in Advances in smart medical textiles - Woodhead Publishing. Pages 239–268. 2016. DOI:10.1016/B978-1-78242-379-9.00011-6 | Download |
| TU/e Cursor article (in Dutch) | Download |
