Intelligent diagnostic systems in maternal and fetal medicine

The aim of maternal and fetal medicine is to reduce perinatal morbidity and mortality as much as possible. This can be achieved by diagnosing genetica l disorders and fetal health problems at an early stage. The easy availabil ity of low-cost, high-capacity microcomputers has facilitated the developme nt of artificial intelligent diagnostic systems. These systems are intended to overcome problems arising from the application of low-level decision-ma king systems depending on classical medical practice and conventional bio-s tatistics to manage such ill-defined, complicated biological phenomena. App lication of better data acquisition, feature extraction (signal/image proce ssing), classification, and automation techniques will enable the developme nt of more efficient intelligent diagnostic systems. We believe that these intelligent systems will bring objectivity to clinical decision making and will take their place in the field of maternal and fetal medicine.