A SOFTWARE trick used to pick out enemy targets on military radar could help doctors spot problems during labour. The non-invasive system can record a baby’s electrocardiogram (ECG) trace during delivery and can also reveal the strength of the mother’s contractions.
Doctors can already monitor a baby’s heart rate during labour using a technique called cardiotocography (CTG). But its output is difficult to interpret, and gives only the average of the heart rate over three beats.
An ECG trace, a recording of the electrical signal from the heart itself, is more accurate and can reveal if a baby is…
