Method and apparatus for non-invasive ultrasonic fetal heart rate monitoring
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring fetal heart rate, comprising the following steps:
- (a) attaching a first ultrasonic transducer array comprising micromachined ultrasonic transducers to a first area on the exterior of an abdomen of a pregnant woman;
(b) controlling said first ultrasonic transducer array to transmit beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen that are steered at an angle that causes the beams to intersect a fetal heart inside the abdomen;
(c) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (b), the acoustic data being acquired using short range gates; and
(d) calculating a fetal heart rate based at least in part on the acoustic data acquired in step (c).
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Abstract
A continuous, non-invasive fetal heart rate measurement is produced using one or more ultrasonic transducer array patches that are adhered or attached to the mother. Each ultrasound transducer array is operated in an autonomous mode by a digital signal processor to obtain data from which fetal heart rate information can be derived. Each ultrasonic transducer array patch comprises a multiplicity of subelements that are switchably reconfigurable to form elements having different shapes, e.g., annular rings. Each subelement comprises a plurality of interconnected cMUT cells that are not switchably disconnectable. The use of cMUT patches will provide the ability to interrogate a three-dimensional space electronically (i.e. without mechanical beam steering) with ultrasound, using a transducer device that is thin and lightweight enough to stick to the patient'"'"'s skin like an EKG electrode. The ultrasound device can track the fetal heart in three-dimensional space as it moves due to the mother'"'"'s motion or the motion of the unborn child within the womb.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring fetal heart rate, comprising the following steps:
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(a) attaching a first ultrasonic transducer array comprising micromachined ultrasonic transducers to a first area on the exterior of an abdomen of a pregnant woman;
(b) controlling said first ultrasonic transducer array to transmit beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen that are steered at an angle that causes the beams to intersect a fetal heart inside the abdomen;
(c) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (b), the acoustic data being acquired using short range gates; and
(d) calculating a fetal heart rate based at least in part on the acoustic data acquired in step (c). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for monitoring fetal heart rate, comprising the following steps:
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(a) attaching a first ultrasonic transducer array to a first area on the exterior of an abdomen of a pregnant woman;
(b) controlling said first ultrasonic transducer array to scan the abdomen of the pregnant woman by transmitting beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen, said beams being steered at different angles;
(c) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (b), the acoustic data being acquired using long range gates;
(d) detecting a pattern in the acoustic data acquired in step (c), said pattern representing a fetal heart signature;
(e) controlling said first ultrasonic transducer array to transmit beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen that have a short range gate, relative to the range gate size in step (c), and are steered at an angle equal to or approximately equal to the angle of a beam transmitted in step (b) that resulted in the detection of said pattern in said acquired data;
(f) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (e); and
(g) calculating a fetal heart rate based at least in part on the acoustic data acquired in step (f). - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of tracking a moving fetal heart inside an abdomen of a patient, comprising the following steps:
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(a) attaching an ultrasonic transducer array comprising micromachined ultrasonic transducers to an area on the exterior of an abdomen of a pregnant woman;
(b) scanning a volume inside the abdomen with beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy;
(c) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen after each transmission in step (b), the acoustic data being acquired using range gates centered in different sample volumes;
(d) determining the signal-to-noise ratio of the acquired acoustic data for each different range gate; and
(e) determining which one of said different range gates had the acoustic data which produced a maximum signal-to-noise ratio. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. A system for autonomous monitoring of heart rate in a fetus, comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer elements, said array comprising a multiplicity of micromachined ultrasonic transducer cells built on or formed in a first substrate, data processing means, and means for delivering signals derived from the output of said array to said data processing means, wherein said data processing means are programmed to perform the following steps:
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(a) controlling said array to transmit beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy;
(b) beamforming acoustic data output from said array in response to impinging ultrasound wave energy transmitted to and returned from the fetal heart; and
(c) computing the fetal heart rate based on the beamformed acoustic data. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system for autonomous monitoring of heart rate in a fetus, comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer elements, data processing means, and means for delivering signals derived from the output of said array to said data processing means, wherein said data processing means are programmed to perform the following steps:
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(a) controlling said ultrasonic transducer array to scan the abdomen of the pregnant woman by transmitting beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen, said beams being steered at different angles;
(b) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (a), the acoustic data being acquired using long range gates;
(c) detecting a pattern in the acoustic data acquired in step (b), said pattern representing a fetal heart signature;
(d) controlling said ultrasonic transducer array to transmit beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy into the abdomen that are steered at an angle equal to or approximately equal to the angle of a beam transmitted in step (a) that resulted in the detection of said pattern in said acquired data;
(e) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen of the pregnant woman after each transmission in step (d), the acoustic data being acquired using short range gates, relative to the range gate size in step (b); and
(f) calculating a fetal heart rate based at least in part on the acoustic data acquired in step (e). - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A system for tracking a fetal heart, comprising an array of ultrasonic transducer elements, data processing means, and means for delivering signals derived from the output of said array to said data processing means, wherein said data processing means are programmed to perform the following steps:
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(a) scanning a volume inside the abdomen with beams of pulsed ultrasonic wave energy;
(b) acquiring acoustic data by transducing ultrasound wave energy returned from the abdomen after each transmission in step (a), the acoustic data being acquired using range gates centered in different sample volumes;
(c) determining the signal-to-noise ratio of the acquired acoustic data for each different range gate; and
(d) determining which one of said different range gates had the acoustic data which produced a maximum signal-to-noise ratio. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33)
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Specification