IP Library Granted Patent US 12697037
Granted Patent B2
US 12697037 · App. 18/163,173 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Prenatal monitoring system

Inventors: Elise J. Higgins (St. Paul, MN); Yong K. Cho (Excelsior, MN); Richard J. O'Brien (Hugo, MN); Randal C. Schulhauser (Phoenix, AZ); Douglas A. Hettrick (White Bear Lake, MN); Shantanu Sarkar (Roseville, MN)
Assignee: Medtronic, Inc.
A61B5/02055A61B5/14532A61B5/14551A61B5/1464A61B5/28A61B5/296A61B5/344A61B5/389A61B5/4356A61B5/4362A61B5/7475A61B5/021A61B5/02411A61B5/0245A61B5/0816A61B2503/02A61B2562/04
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12697037
App. No.
18/163,173
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system for sensing physiological traits of a maternal patient and a fetal patient carried by the maternal patient during a pregnancy using one or more sensors. The system may use the physiological traits sensed to define a maternal attribute for the maternal patient and a fetal attribute for the fetal patient, such as a heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, temperature, oxygen saturation level, or other attributes. The system is configured to compare the maternal attribute to a maternal limit describing a threshold for the maternal patient and/or compare the fetal attribute to a fetal limit describing a threshold for the fetal patient. The system is configured to issue a communication to the maternal patient and/or a clinician based on the comparisons. In examples, the system regularly communicates the maternal attribute and/or the fetal attribute to an output device of the maternal patient and/or a clinician.

Claims (38)

1 . A system comprising:

one or more sensors configured to sense a maternal physiological trait indicative of a maternal attribute of a maternal patient, a first fetal physiological trait indicative of a fetal attribute of a fetal patient carried by the maternal patient, and a second fetal physiological trait indicative of the fetal attribute of the fetal patient, wherein the maternal attribute is indicative of a physiological characteristic of a body of the maternal patient and the fetal attribute is indicative of a physiological characteristic of a body of the fetal patient;

sensing circuitry operably coupled to the one or more sensors and configured to issue a first electrical output signal indicative of the maternal physiological trait, a second electrical output signal indicative of the first fetal physiological trait, and a third electrical output signal indicative of the second fetal physiological trait; and

processing circuitry operably connected to the sensing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:

receive the first electrical output signal, the second electrical output signal, and the third electrical output signal from the sensing circuitry,

define the maternal attribute for the received first electrical output signal,

define the fetal attribute based on the second electrical output signal and the third electrical output signal, and

issue a communication based on at least one of:

a comparison of the maternal attribute and a maternal limit, wherein the maternal limit defines a threshold for the maternal attribute, or

a comparison of the fetal attribute and a fetal limit, wherein the fetal limit defines a threshold for the fetal attribute.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the one or more sensors are configured to sense a mixed physiological trait indicative of a second maternal physiological trait and a third fetal physiological trait,

the output signal comprises a combined electrical signal that is indicative of the mixed physiological trait, and

the processing circuitry is configured to:

separate the combined electrical signal into an electrical output signal indicative of the second maternal physiological trait and an electrical output signal indicative of the third fetal physiological trait, and

define a second maternal attribute for the electrical output signal indicative of the second maternal physiological trait and define a second fetal attribute for the electrical output signal indicative of the third fetal physiological trait.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the maternal attribute is at least one of a heartrate of the maternal patient, a systolic blood pressure of the maternal patient, a diastolic blood pressure of the maternal patient, an oxygen saturation level of the maternal patient, a respiration rate of the maternal patient, a temperature of the maternal patient, a muscular contraction of the maternal patient, a blood glucose level of the maternal patient, or a weight of the maternal patient.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the fetal attribute is at least one of a heartrate of the fetal patient, a systolic blood pressure of the fetal patient, a diastolic blood pressure of the fetal patient, an oxygen saturation level of the fetal patient, a respiration rate of the fetal patient, an activity of a fetal patient, or a temperature of the fetal patient.

5 . The system of 1 , wherein:

the processing circuitry is configured to receive a designated start of a pregnancy of the maternal patient as an input from a user input device,

the processing circuitry is configured to determine an elapsed time since the designated start of the pregnancy, and

the processing circuitry is configured to select the maternal limit and the fetal limit based the elapsed time.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors are configured to sense a first physiological trait indicative of a first maternal attribute and a second physiological trait indicative of a second maternal attribute, and wherein the maternal attribute is based on at least the first physiological trait and the second physiological trait.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to issue the communication to device circuitry of a patient input/output device to cause the patient input/output device to provide an output sensible by the maternal patient, a clinician, or another user when the processing circuitry issues the communication.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to communicate physiological data indicative of at least one of the maternal physiological trait, the maternal attribute, the fetal physiological trait, or the fetal attribute to device circuitry of at least one of a patient input/output device, a clinician input/output device, or an external device communicatively coupled to the clinician input/output device.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to at least one of:

generate a plurality of maternal attributes as the processing circuitry receives the output signal, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to define the maternal limit using the plurality of maternal attributes; or

generate a plurality of fetal attributes as the processing circuitry receives the output signal, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to define the fetal limit using the plurality of fetal attributes.

10 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a medical device configured to contact a body of the maternal patient, wherein the medical device mechanically supports the sensor and at least some portion of the sensing circuitry.

11 . The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to select treatment recommendations based on the communication, and

wherein the processing circuitry is configured to communicate the treatment recommendations to device circuitry mechanically supported by a patient input/output device to cause the patient input/output device to provide an output sensible by the maternal patient, a clinician, or another user indicative of the treatment recommendations.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein to issue the communication, the processing circuitry is further configured to:

compare, using a machine learning algorithm, at least one of: the maternal attribute to the maternal limit or the fetal attribute to the fetal limit.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to issue the communication to a device located at a different physical location than the one or more sensors.

14 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising communication circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to issue the communication via the communication circuitry.