Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings

Title data

Jaeger, Katharina M. ; Nissen, Michael ; Rahm, Simone ; Titzmann, Adriana ; Fasching, Peter A. ; Beilner, Janina ; Eskofier, Bjoern M. ; Leutheuser, Heike:
Power-MF: robust fetal QRS detection from non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram recordings.
In: Physiological Measurement. Vol. 45 (2024) Issue 5 . - 055009.
ISSN 1361-6579
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6579/ad4952

Official URL:

Abstract in another language

Objective. Perinatal asphyxia poses a significant risk to neonatal health, necessitating accurate fetal heart rate monitoring for effective detection and management. The current gold standard, cardiotocography, has inherent limitations, highlighting the need for alternative approaches. The emerging technology of non-invasive fetal electrocardiography shows promise as a new sensing technology for fetal cardiac activity, offering potential advancements in the detection and management of perinatal asphyxia. Although algorithms for fetal QRS detection have been developed in the past, only a few of them demonstrate accurate performance in the presence of noise and artifacts. Approach. In this work, we propose Power-MF, a new algorithm for fetal QRS detection combining power spectral density and matched filter techniques. We benchmark Power-MF against three open-source algorithms on two recently published datasets (Abdominal and Direct Fetal ECG Database: ADFECG, subsets B1 Pregnancy and B2 Labour; Non-invasive Multimodal Foetal ECG-Doppler Dataset for Antenatal Cardiology Research: NInFEA). Main results. Our results show that Power-MF outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on ADFECG (B1 Pregnancy: 99.5 ± 0.5 F1-score, B2 Labour: 98.0 ± 3.0 F1-score) and on NInFEA in three of six electrode configurations by being more robust against noise. Significance. Through this work, we contribute to improving the accuracy and reliability of fetal cardiac monitoring, an essential step toward early detection of perinatal asphyxia with the long-term goal of reducing costs and making prenatal care more accessible.

Further data

Item Type:	Article in a journal
Refereed:	Yes
Institutions of the University:	Faculties > Faculty of Mathematics, Physics und Computer Science Faculties > Faculty of Mathematics, Physics und Computer Science > Department of Computer Science Faculties > Faculty of Mathematics, Physics und Computer Science > Department of Computer Science > Chair Ambient Assisted Living and Medical Assistance Systems Faculties > Faculty of Mathematics, Physics und Computer Science > Department of Computer Science > Chair Ambient Assisted Living and Medical Assistance Systems > Chair Ambient Assisted Living and Medical Assistance Systems - Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heike Leutheuser
Result of work at the UBT:	No
DDC Subjects:	000 Computer Science, information, general works 600 Technology, medicine, applied sciences
Date Deposited:	24 Feb 2026 07:15
Last Modified:	24 Feb 2026 07:15
URI:	https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/96332