Monitoring fetal movement (FM) is an important measure to combat fetal distress and death, since lack of FM can be a sign of placental dysfunction, intrauterine fetal asphyxia or preeclampsia. Existing clinically available FM monitoring methods include: 1) maternal perception of FM, which is commonly used to predict daily fetal well-being; but while this method can be done at home, its major disadvantage is its subjectivity; and 2) ultrasound, which utilizes sound waves to generate images of the fetus and allows visual access to the fetal condition. Although ultrasound is often regarded as the gold standard of FM detection, it is expensive and can be accessed only in clinics.

Therefore, we recently developed a low-cost, non-invasive, easy-to-use wearable device for woman over 28 weeks into pregnancy to monitor FM. The device effectively covers the whole abdomen of a pregnant woman and detects FM with four IMU sensors, three placed at the three corners and one in the middle. Since the device allows home measurement and fetal condition monitoring at any time, it can greatly minimise the number of premature births and fetal deaths.