TU Eindhoven Researcher Develops Portable Wearable for Gel Free Fetal Heart Monitoring

Yijing Zhang. Photo: Angeline Swinkels

(IN BRIEF) PhD researcher Yijing Zhang has developed a wearable garment that allows pregnant women to monitor their unborn baby’s heartbeat at home without gel-based electrodes or direct skin contact. Using integrated dry electrodes, custom electronics, and advanced noise-reduction techniques, the system works through clothing while delivering performance comparable to traditional clinical sensors. Tested in collaboration with Máxima Medical Center and supported by industry partners, the technology promises greater comfort, peace of mind, and more efficient prenatal care, although further validation and regulatory approval are still required before market introduction.

(PRESS RELEASE) EINDHOVEN, 9-Jan-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — A new wearable technology developed at Eindhoven University of Technology could significantly simplify how expectant mothers monitor their unborn baby’s heartbeat at home. PhD researcher Yijing Zhang from the Department of Electrical Engineering has created a comfortable, portable garment that enables fetal heart monitoring without the need for sticky gel-based electrodes or direct skin contact.

The prototype of the wearable garment. Photo: Yijing Zhang

Unlike many existing home monitoring systems, which require electrodes to be placed directly on the skin using conductive gel, Zhang’s solution uses integrated dry electrodes that work through clothing. This allows pregnant women to wear the garment over their own clothes and carry out measurements with minimal preparation, making regular monitoring more convenient and suitable for everyday use.

The different parts of the portable monitor. Photos: Yijing Zhang

During her doctoral research, Zhang designed a wearable garment equipped with multiple embedded electrodes and dedicated data-acquisition hardware built around a custom integrated-circuit chip. She compares the user experience to familiar consumer wearables such as smartwatches, which allow people to track health metrics effortlessly. By eliminating the need for gel and direct skin contact, the garment aims to improve comfort while maintaining reliable signal quality.

The cover of her dissertation, designed by Yijing Zhang

A major focus of Zhang’s work was minimizing noise in the measurement process. Detecting a fetal heartbeat is particularly challenging because the signal is weak and easily disturbed by interference. Movements and breathing of the mother can introduce significant noise, especially when using dry electrodes rather than traditional gel-based sensors. In addition, the electrodes themselves and the surrounding electronic circuitry can generate unwanted interference.

To address these challenges, Zhang developed advanced noise-reduction techniques, including a hybrid amplifier structure and a fast reset scheme. These innovations help suppress interference from both physiological sources and electronic components, allowing the wearable system to achieve performance comparable to conventional clinical sensors despite the lack of direct skin contact.

The research was supported by the Eindhoven MedTech Innovation Center. In collaboration with Máxima Medical Center, the wearable system was tested on more than ten pregnant women, producing plausible and encouraging results. Clinicians at the medical center also provided feedback on the materials used in the garment to improve comfort and usability.

Technology company Philips contributed technical expertise during the development of the portable monitor. Zhang notes that designing the device herself allowed for rapid iteration, with adjustments made throughout the development process in response to partner feedback.

Making prenatal monitoring easier at home offers clear benefits for both expectant parents and healthcare providers. Zhang explains that mothers gain peace of mind by being able to check their baby’s wellbeing independently, while data can be shared with hospitals for remote monitoring and timely intervention if necessary. The approach could also reduce the number of routine hospital visits, freeing up clinical staff and resources, and may be particularly valuable in regions where access to prenatal care is limited by distance.

While the prototype demonstrates strong potential, Zhang expects that it will take another five to ten years before such a wearable monitor becomes commercially available. This timeline reflects the need to meet strict medical device regulations and to further validate the reliability of the technology through larger-scale testing.

Media Contact:

Sanne Resoort
Press Officer
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 s.resoort@tue.nl

SOURCE: TU/e