Key result
Smart textile-based fetal ECG enables continuous non-invasive monitoring without the skin irritation of conventional hydrogel electrodes.
Why the study?
Non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram is evolving for remote fetal surveillance without infection risks, creating a need to discuss monitoring methods and future research directions in smart textiles.
Does non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram monitoring via smart textiles provide a viable and more comfortable alternative to conventional methods for continuous fetal health assessment?
Does non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram monitoring via smart textiles provide a viable and more comfortable alternative to conventional methods for continuous fetal health assessment?
Smart textile electrodes represent a promising future direction for non-invasive fetal ECG monitoring, potentially enabling continuous, remote, and comfortable fetal health tracking without the drawbacks of conventional hydrogels.
May support remote fetal monitoring development; leaves open prospective validation before clinical adoption.
During the pregnancy, fetal electrocardiogram (FECG) is deployed to analyze fetal heart rate (FHR) of the fetus to indicate the growth and health of the fetus to determine any abnormalities and prevent diseases. The fetal electrocardiogram monitoring can be carried out either invasively by placing the electrodes on the scalp of the fetus, involving the skin penetration and the risk of infection, or non-invasively by recording the fetal heart rate signal from the mother’s abdomen through a placement of electrodes deploying portable, wearable devices. Non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram (NIFECG) is an evolving technology in fetal surveillance because of the comfort to the pregnant women and being achieved remotely, specifically in the unprecedented circumstances such as pandemic or COVID-19. Textiles have been at the heart of human technological progress for thousands of years, with textile developments closely tied to key inventions that have shaped societies. The relatively recent invention of smart textiles is set to push boundaries again and has already opened the potential for garments relevant to medicine, and health monitoring. This paper aims to discuss the different technologies and methods used in non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram (NIFECG) monitoring as well as the potential and future research directions of NIFECG in the smart textiles area.
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Aggarwal et al. (2021) conducted a review in Fetal heart rate monitoring during pregnancy. Non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram (NIFECG) via smart textiles vs. Conventional monitoring (invasive fetal scalp electrodes, cardiotocography, Doppler, hydrogel electrodes) was evaluated. Non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram monitoring utilizing smart textile electrodes offers a potential remote, continuous method for assessing fetal health while avoiding the skin irritation and degradation associated with conventional hydrogel electrodes.
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