Use of the electrohysterogram signal for characterization of contractions during pregnancy

This article proposes a method to evaluate the ability of the electrohysterogram signal to characterize the contractions during pregnancy, in a population with high risk of preterm deliveries. This study constitutes a first stage of a project intended to develop a monitoring system for the early diagnosis of preterm deliveries. After a proper signal denoising, the authors calculate some parameters characteristic of the extracted contractions. These contractions are then divided into classes of different physiological terms. Classical techniques of data analysis, such as principal component analysis and discriminant analysis, permit the authors to show an evolution of the contractions during pregnancy, which is different between the groups of preterm deliveries and that of deliveries at term. The authors show that, in an early term of pregnancy, they can separate the two populations: women delivering at term from women delivering preterm. The authors then show that these two kinds of pregnancy are of different evolutions. These results are encouraging, because they would permit, in a follow-up medical study, to diagnose a possible preterm delivery, as well as the proximity of the delivery.