Fetal magnetocardiography: methods for rapid data reduction

John C. Mosher*, Edward R. Flynn, A. Quinn, A. Weir, U. Shahani, R. J.P. Bain, P. Maas, G. B. Donaldson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Fetal magnetocardigraphy (fMCG) provides a unique method for noninvasive observations of the fetal heart. Electrical currents generated by excitable tissues within the fetal heart yield measurable external magnetic fields. Measurements are performed with superconducting quantum interference devices inductively coupled to magnetometer or gradiometer coils, and the resulting signals are converted to digital form in the data acquisition system. The measured fields are usually contaminated by fetal and maternal movements (usually respiration), other physiological fields such as skeletal muscle contraction, the maternal cardiac signal, and environmental electromagnetic fields. Sensitivity to relatively distant sources, both physiological and environmental, is substantially reduced by the use of magnetic gradiometers. Other contaminants may be removed by proper signal conditioning which may be automatically applied using "black box" algorithms that are transparent to the user and highly efficient. These procedures can rapidly reduce the complex signal plus noise waveforms to the desired fMCG with minimal operator interference.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1587-1595
Number of pages9
JournalReview of Scientific Instruments
Volume68
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Instrumentation

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fetal magnetocardiography: methods for rapid data reduction'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this