ECG & monitoring
Cardiotocography (CTG)
Also called: CTG, fetal monitoring, NST
Cardiotocography (CTG) — Continuous recording of the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions during pregnancy or labour, printed as two traces on CTG paper.
The upper trace shows fetal heart rate (FHR) and the lower shows uterine activity from the tocodynamometer (toco). Monitors print at a set paper speed — commonly 1, 2 or 3 cm per minute — so the paper grid must match the monitor’s scale for traces to be read correctly.
Some monitors print on pre-gridded paper; others print their own grid on plain thermal paper.
Related termsThermal recording paperZ-fold paper
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