A system for monitoring health parameters of a user includes a housing including: a plurality of sensors disposed on an outer surface of the housing or within the housing for measuring a plurality of parameters of interest; a processor disposed in the housing and communicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors; a coupling element on the housing for coupling the housing to an accessory; and an accessory identifier positioned on or within the housing and communicatively coupled to the processor. In some embodiments, the housing is reversibly transitionable between an uncoupled state and a coupled state with the accessory. In the coupled state, the accessory identifier senses a type of accessory and the processor activates a subset of the plurality of sensors to measure a subset of the plurality of parameters of interest. In some embodiments, the user is a pregnant female and a fetus developing in the pregnant female.

This disclosure pertains to stimulation and monitoring devices for in utero cognitive stimulation of and interaction with developing fetuses by synthesizing sounds and sound patterns derived from movements of the fetuses' bodies and appendages. The exemplary stimulation and monitoring devices comprise arrays of sensors positionable above and/or the sides of the womb for detecting and recording movements of the fetus's body and appendages, one or more speakers, a microprocessor, controls, and optionally one or more light-emitting components. The collected movement data may be processed by a synthesizer for production of sound patterns and light patterns that are correlated with the movement data. The sound patterns and light patterns produced by the synthesizer may be transmitted through the speakers and the light-emitting components toward and into the womb to provide the development fetus with immediate cognitive stimulation in response to the movements of their body and appendages.

Light reflected from a pregnant woman's abdomen and fetus contained therein that has been received by a detector and converted into a reflected electronic signal may be received by a processor. A portion of the reflected electronic signal that is reflected from the fetus may be isolated and the isolated portion of the reflected electronic signal may be analyzed to determine a fetal hemoglobin oxygen saturation level of the fetus. The isolation may be achieved by synchronizing the reflected electronic signal with a fetal heartbeat signal and multiplying the synchronized reflected electronic signal by the synchronized fetal heartbeat signal.

The invention provides systems and methods for monitoring the wellbeing of a fetus by the non-invasive detection and analysis of fetal cardiac electrical activity data.

The present invention relates to an ultrasound beam quality test apparatus and methods of use. In this regard, fetal heart rate (FHR) transducer is placed for test and interconnected with fetal monitors. Phantoms of different heights can be placed on the FHR transducer. A computer system includes a beam control circuit. A plurality of hydrophone piezo-electric crystal (PZT) discs are placed on top of the phantom and interconnected with the beam control circuit. The computer system analyzes the ultrasound beam quality, of the FHR transducer, as it passes through the phantom. The beam control circuit can also control the oscillating motion of a metal plate to simulate a fetal heart beat by way of a linear actuator. The FHR transducer registered heartbeat, by way of the fetal monitor, is then compared to the simulated fetal heart beat to determine if the FHR transducer is working correctly.

Described herein are systems and methods for contraction monitoring. For example, a system for contraction monitoring includes an electrode patch including at least two electrodes, and a sensor module configured to be connected to the electrode patch. In some embodiments, the sensor module includes a signal acquisition module, a signal processing module, a power management module, a sensor control module, and a memory module and/or a data transmission module. In some embodiments, a method for contraction monitoring includes measuring, using the signal acquisition module, bio-potential signals by providing at least two electrodes on the abdomen of a pregnant woman. In some embodiments, a method for contraction monitoring includes processing, using the signal processing module, the bio-potential signal to extract electrohysterogram signals, maternal electrocardiogram signals and fetus electrocardiogram signals, and processing, using the signal processing module, the individual signals to extract uterine contraction.

A wearable sensor apparatus comprises a motion sensor configured to sense two or three dimensional movement and orientation of the sensor and a vibration sensor configured to sense acoustic vibrations. The apparatus includes means for attaching the motion sensor and the vibration sensor to a body. The sensor apparatus enables long term monitoring of mechanomyographic muscle activity in combination with body motion for a number of applications.

A seamless, smart fetal monitoring garment and methods of using thereof. The system includes a knitted or interwoven garment having a multiplicity of conductive textile electrodes for sensing maternal and fetal electrical vital signals. The maternal and fetal electrical vital signals are selected from a group including maternal heart rate, fetal heart rate and electromyogram (EMG) activities including uterine activities. The method includes wearing the garment, acquiring electrical mixed common, maternal and fetal vital signals from surface region of a pregnant woman, using the plurality of textile electrodes, optimally weighted summing-up the acquired signals, analyzing the summed-up signals to thereby extract the maternal signal and the fetal signal, including determining their heart rates, and including detecting health hazards and in some embodiments, including detecting a uterine contraction sequence suggesting the need to be hospitalized for birth giving.

The invention concerns a multi-electrode patch for abdominal electrophysiological detection. The patch has a flexible substrate interconnecting multiple electrodes and a module unit for removably engaging with an electronic readout device for detecting a maternal and/or fetal electrophysiological signal from the electrodes. The module has a mechanical module unit for removable mechanical engagement with a housing of the readout device, and an electrical module unit for making an electrical connection from the electrodes to the readout device. Engaging the patch with the readout device comprises engaging both the mechanical module unit and the electrical module unit. The patch may be flexible in a manner that allows variation in the relative positioning between the electrodes. The patch and/or electronic readout device may comprise a security device for communication of an authentication code.

A method of estimating fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) signals utilizes a plurality of ECG signals measured along the mother's abdomen. The method includes defining an MECG (ECG) dictionary of symbols and projecting the plurality of abdominal ECG signals onto the MECG dictionary to estimate MECG signals within each of the plurality of abdominal ECG signals. The estimated MECG signals are subtracted from the plurality of measured abdominal ECG signals to estimate FECG signals and the plurality of estimated FECG signals are combined to generate a representation of the FECG source signal.