New estimators and guidelines for better use of fetal heart rate estimators with Doppler ultrasound devices

Iulian Voicu (1) , Sébastien Ménigot (2, 1) , Denis Kouamé (3) , Jean-Marc Girault (1)

1 iBraiN - Imaging, Brain & Neuropsychiatry
2 IUT de Ville-d'Avray
3 IRIT - Institut de recherche en informatique de Toulouse

Characterizing fetal wellbeing with a Doppler ultrasound requires computation of a score based on fetal parameters. In order to analyze the parameters derived from the fetal heart rate correctly, an accuracy of 0.25 beats per minutes is needed. Simultaneously with the lowest false negative rate and highest sensitivity, we investigated whether various Doppler techniques ensure thie error of estimation. We found that the error of estimation was ensured if directional Doppler signals and autocorrelation estimation were used. Our best estimator provided a sensitivity of 95.5%, corresponding to an improvement of 14% compared to the standard estimator.

Mots clés: Doppler ultrasound signal; accuracy; estimation; autocorrelation; fetal heart rate

Domaines: Ingénierie biomédicale; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]; Traitement du signal et de l'image [eess.SP]

Iulian Voicu, Sébastien Ménigot, Denis Kouamé, Jean-Marc Girault. New estimators and guidelines for better use of fetal heart rate estimators with Doppler ultrasound devices. Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine, 2013, pp.1-14. ⟨10.1155/2014/784862⟩. ⟨hal-00881484v1⟩