Comfortable New Wearable Lets Pregnant Women Measure Fetal Heart Rate at Home

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology have developed a new wearable garment that allows pregnant women to measure the heart rate of their unborn baby at home in a more comfortable and practical way. The project was led by PhD researcher Yijing Zhang from the Department of Electrical Engineering, who focused on solving a persistent problem in fetal monitoring. Many existing home fetal heart rate devices rely on gel‑based electrodes that must be placed directly on the skin. These gels can feel cold or sticky, may irritate the skin, and often make the monitoring process inconvenient for everyday use. As a result, many expectant mothers avoid regular at‑home monitoring even when it could provide valuable reassurance between clinical visits.

Zhang’s wearable introduces a different approach by integrating dry electrodes into a soft, flexible garment that can detect fetal heart signals through clothing. This eliminates the need for conductive gel and removes the requirement to expose the abdomen. The garment is designed to be lightweight and comfortable enough for daily wear, allowing pregnant women to check fetal heart activity without interrupting their routine. This focus on comfort and ease of use is central to the project, which aims to make prenatal monitoring more accessible and less intrusive.

To ensure that the system can reliably capture the faint electrical signals produced by the fetal heart, the researchers developed custom data‑acquisition hardware built around a dedicated integrated‑circuit chip. This hardware filters and amplifies the signals so they can be measured accurately even when the mother is moving or wearing multiple layers of clothing. Many existing home monitors struggle in these real‑world conditions, which limits their usefulness outside controlled clinical environments. The TU/e system is designed specifically to overcome these limitations by combining sensitive electronics with a wearable form factor that fits naturally into daily life.