A patient advisory device (“PAD”) and its methods of use. The PAD may be configured to alert the patient about an estimated brain state of the patient. In preferred embodiments, the PAD is adapted to alert the patient of the patient's brain state, which corresponds to the patient's propensity of transitioning into an ictal brain state, e.g., having a seizure. Based on the specific type of alert, the patient will be made aware whether they are highly unlikely to have a seizure for a given period of time, an elevated propensity of having a seizure, a seizure is occurring or imminent, or the patient's brain state is unknown.

Systems and methods for monitoring the onset or occurrence of labor contractions and detecting or estimating labor in a pregnant female are provided.

The present invention provides a bio-electrode composition capable of forming a living body contact layer for a bio-electrode that is excellent in conductivity and biocompatibility, is light-weight, can be manufactured at low cost, and can control significant reduction in conductivity even though the bio-electrode is soaked in water or dried. The present invention is accomplished by a bio-electrode composition including an ionic material and a resin, in which the ionic material is a lithium salt, a sodium salt, a potassium salt, a calcium salt, or an ammonium salt of sulphonamide represented by the following general formula (1).
[R.sup.1C(O)N.sup.SO.sub.2Rf.sub.1].sub.nM.sup.n+(1)

The present invention provides a bio-electrode that is excellent in conductivity and biocompatibility, is light-weight, can be manufactured at low cost, and can control significant reduction in conductivity even though the bio-electrode is soaked in water or dried. The present invention is accomplished by providing a conductive substrate and a living body contact layer formed on the conductive substrate, where the living body contact layer is a cured product of a bio-electrode composition including an (A) ionic material and a (B) resin other than the component (A), in which the component (A) has both a repeating unit a of a lithium salt, a sodium salt, a potassium salt, or an ammonium salt of sulfonamide including a partial structure represented by the following general formula (1) and a repeating unit b having a silicon atom, R.sup.1C(O)N.sup.SO.sub.2Rf.sub.1M.sup.+(1).

A system for monitoring a fetal heartbeat sound has a sensor matrix adapted to be placed adjacent to a fetus, a processor for receiving signals transmitted by the sensor matrix, a processor for receiving signals transmitted by the sensor matrix, and a display connected to the processor so as to provide a humanly perceivable indication of the heartbeat sound. The sensor matrix has a plurality of sensors of which at least one of which is facing the fetus. The processor identifies a fetal heartbeat sound from among other sounds. The sensor array is affixed to a wearable article that is adapted to be worn by mother.

An adhesive hydrogel has low contact resistance against the body surface and excellent conformability and adhesiveness to the body surface, so that noise generation can be reduced. Such adhesive hydrogel enables measurements of weak fetal heart rate signals. The adhesive hydrogel includes a polymer matrix prepared by crosslinking-copolymerization of an acrylamide derivative, which is a nonionic polymerizable monomer including a polymerizable carbon-carbon double bond in a molecule, and polyfunctional (meth)acrylamide, which is a crosslinkable monomer comprising 2 or more polymerizable carbon-carbon double bonds in a molecule, water, a polyvalent alcohol, and an electrolyte salt, wherein a laminate of the adhesive hydrogel with an Ag/AgCl sheet exhibits the impedance of 1 to 100 at the frequency of 0.1 Hz measured in accordance with the method of ANSI/AAMI EC12:2000, and the dynamic elastic modulus G at the frequency of 1 Hz measured at 25 C. and dispersed frequencies is 1.010.sup.3 Pa to 1.010.sup.4 Pa.

The present invention provides a bio-electrode composition capable of forming a living body contact layer for a bio-electrode that is excellent in conductivity and biocompatibility, is light-weight, can be manufactured at low cost, and can control significant reduction in conductivity even though the bio-electrode is soaked in water or dried. The present invention is accomplished by a bio-electrode composition including an (A) ionic material and a (B) resin other than the component (A), in which the component (A) has both a repeating unit a of a lithium salt, a sodium salt, a potassium salt, or an ammonium salt of sulfonamide including a partial structure represented by the following general formula (1) and a repeating unit b having a silicon atom,
R.sup.1C(O)N.sup.SO.sub.2Rf.sub.1M.sup.+(1).

An abdominal electrocardiogram processing system for determining a fetal heart rate of a fetus in a pregnant woman obtains a combined electrocardiogram measurement of a maternal heart rate and a fetal heart rate. The system then transforms the combined electrocardiogram measurement into a wavelet domain to create a combined electrocardiogram measurement wavelet transform. The system can then remove the maternal heart rate from the combined electrocardiogram measurement wavelet transform. The system then identifies a fetal heart rate from the compensated combined electrocardiogram measurement wavelet transform.

The present disclosure discusses a mechanically stabilized sensor. The sensor is configured for intra-vaginal placement and can be used during labor and diagnostic procedures not associated with labor. The sensor can detect bioelectrical signals generated by the uterus and fetal heart. The mechanical stabilization of the sensor to the vaginal mucosa can reduce noise in the bioelectrical signals detected with the sensor. The sensor's stability enables long-term, intra-vaginal recordings to be made.

A system for assessing and monitoring a fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart rate in a pregnant mother comprises wearable mechanical-electronic sensors, e.g., embedded in a wrist or arm band, which can measure mechanical pulse signals from the mother, and an abdomen patch which can measure the combined ECG signals of the fetus and mother. In another embodiment, the sensors in the wrist or arm band measure the combined fetal/maternal ECG signals, and the mother's mechanical pulse signals. By signal processing and gating out the maternal ECG signals as correlated with the mechanical maternal pulse signals, the fetal ECG and heart rate can be measured and monitored. These measurements may be displayed on the wrist or arm band device, or wirelessly through a remote device, mobile phone or computer. Sensors in the abdominal patch may also measure uterine electromyogram, uterine contractions, and fetal movements, to be correlated with the fetal ECG.