Patent ID: 9078582
Filing Date: 2015-07-14
Classification: A61B,G01S

Abstract:
1. An ultra-wideband (UWB) fetal monitoring system capable of concurrent monitoring of indicators of fetal and maternal health, the system comprising: a sensor configured to transmit a UWB signal and receive reflected UWB signal data, the sensor comprising at least one antenna; and a signal processor configured to receive the reflected UWB signal data from the sensor, wherein the signal processor is programmed to: process the reflected UWB signal data into a matrix of reflected UWB signals indexed by depth and time, identify which reflected UWB signals in the matrix of reflected UWB signals correspond to a uterine contraction, differentiate between fetal and maternal regions within the matrix of reflected UWB signals based on the identification of which reflected UWB signals correspond to the uterine contraction, extract one or more indicators of fetal health from the fetal region within the matrix of reflected UWB signals, and extract one or more indicators of maternal health from the maternal region within the matrix of reflected UWB signals; and a transmitted energy level adapter configured to adjust the energy level of the UWB signal transmitted by the sensor based on the energy level of the signals reflected by the fetus, wherein the transmitted energy level adapter comprises a comparator configured to compare the energy level of signals reflected by the fetus to a predetermined target energy level, further wherein the transmitted energy level adapter is configured to adjust the energy level of the UWB signal to keep the energy level of signals reflected by the fetus within the predetermined target energy level.