Abstract

RODRIGUEZ VELASQUEZ, Javier et al. Zipf-Mandelbrot law and mathematical approach in fetal cardiac monitoring diagnosis. rev.fac.med. [online]. 2006, vol.54, n.2, pp.96-107. ISSN 0120-0011.

Background. Current clinical diagnosis of fetal monitoring lacks objectivity and reproducibility, nevertheless, physical and mathematical analysis of the tracing can help in the characterization of the fetal cardiac dynamics, obtaining by these way reproducible measurements. Objective. To develop a new diagnostic methodology of the fetal monitoring applying the dynamical systems conceptions and the Zipf-Mandelbrot law to evaluate the tracing complexity, starting of the Dynamical Components of the Systems (DSC) apparition. Materials and methods. We evaluated a set of 50 monitoring tests from pregnant women divided in two groups: group A, 40 women with abnormal pregnancy, and group B, 10 with normal pregnancy. Four mathematical prototypes of health-illness were defined for the evaluation and diagnosis of any cardiac dynamic, moreover, Zipf-Mandelbrot’s law was applied to evaluate its complexity degree. Results. One healthy fetus presents a mathematical self-organization characterized by the fractal dimension greater than zero, absence of pronounced inverted DCS (PiDCS) and a value greater than 12 in the frequencies sum of the appearance in DCS groups between 15-25 beats/min, whereas the disease is characterized by the presence of one or more PiDCS, or loss of complexity in the CDS group of 5 -10 height, or by a value less or equal than 12 in CDS’s sum with changes of frequencies between 15-25 beat/min, or by some combination of these parameters. In agreement, with this analysis, three of every ten pregnant women of the A and B groups have a diagnosis mistake. Conclusions. This one is a new methodology for diagnostic evaluation of the cardiac fetal dynamics; which is objective and reproducible besides serving as methodology of preventive evaluation in clinical daily practice.

Keywords : fetal research; fetal monitoring; methods; diagnosis; prenatal diagnosis; mathematics; Zipf-Mandelbrot’s law.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )