Fetal heart rate variability: clinical experts versus computerized system interpretation

Acceleration and deceleration patterns in fetal heart rate (FHR) are widely used as an assessment of fetal condition. The paper presents a method for evaluation of an expert's interpretation of the FIGO definition of acceleration and deceleration patterns in FHR trace. Two indices describing the disagreement between a fetal monitoring system and experts have been defined. The results obtained indicate the essential differences in procedure of acceleration/deceleration recognition by the computerized system and a human expert.