Analysis of nonstationarities in fetal heart rate signal: inconsistency measures of baselines using acceleration/deceleration patterns

A correctly determined nonstationary component of fetal heart rate signal, so called baseline, is a precondition for proper identification of the acceleration and deceleration patterns. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a method and criteria, which would allow for evaluating the baseline estimation algorithms. The method could be based on a direct comparison of baselines or on a comparison of the resulted acceleration/deceleration patterns. The paper presents a method which can be used to determine matched acceleration/deceleration signal patterns recognized using two various baselines in the meaning of their time location. It defines the coefficients for inconsistency measurement between these patterns.