Computerised simulation of fetal heart rate signals

Computerized systems employed for the analysis of cardiotocographic signals have become almost indispensable tools in fetal monitoring, for which evaluation of fetal heart rate signals plays a key role. Consequently to the diffusion of these systems, new software and complex signal processing methodologies are spreading and are gaining more and more interest. For testing the performances of new software and/or techniques, the availability of synthetic signals with a-priori known characteristics can be very helpful. In this paper we describe an updating of a procedure previously published for the computerized simulation of fetal heart rate signals, realized in order to obtain more realistic signals. Obtained results, analyzed by a team of experts, are satisfying, in that new simulated signals appear less regular and more complex, and hence more similar to real signals. Nevertheless, further research is necessary for obtaining very realistic signals. The future research will be initially focused on the study of floatingline and uterine contractions simulation.