Measurement of fetal movements using multichannel ultrasound pulsed Doppler: autorecognition of fetal movements by maximum entropy method.

Changes in fetal movements indicate biophysical conditions and functional development. The precise evaluation of fetal movements in clinical medicine requires the development of a continuous automated monitoring technique. A basic study of the measurement of fetal movements was carried out by modifying the Doppler ultrasound module of a cardiotocograph to produce low-frequency Doppler signals and five simultaneous outputs at various depths. These outputs represent displacement inside tissue at the various depths. Signal processing was executed on a 32-bit computer with a high-accuracy displacement estimation technique using the arctangent method. Results showed successful tracking of minute movements, such as fetal breathing movements (FBM), while rejecting other movements derived from maternal breathing etc. Using spectral analysis by the maximum entropy method (MEM), fetal movements were classified in three groups (FBM, fetal gross movements (FGM) and fetal heart movements (FHM), based on the character of their special peak frequencies. The order of movement recognition was first FGM, then FBM and lastly FHM. FBM were more successfully recognised by MEM than by conventional B-mode observation methods. Small body movements were difficult to recognise as FGM by MEM in some cases. Although further studies are required for clinical application, it appears that automated assessments of fetal movements should be possible with this technique.