An Autoencoder-Based Fetal Heart Rate Detector for Noninvasive Recordings.

Antenatal fetal health monitoring primarily depends on the signal analysis of abdominal or transabdominal electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings. The noninvasive approach for obtaining fetal heart rate (HR) reduces risks of potential infections and is convenient for the expectant mother. However, in addition to strong maternal ECG presence, undesirable signals due to body motion activity, muscle contractions, and certain bio-electric potentials degrade the diagnostic quality of obtained fetal ECG from abdominal ECG recordings.