Fetal magnetocardiography: the clinician's viewpoint.

: The fetal magnetocardiogram (FMCG) can be reliably recorded from approximately the 15th week of gestation onwards. The MCG has the ability to accurately record cardiac time intervals, and to provide a real-time recording that reflects cardiac electrical activity. Standardisation of the recording, signal processing, and measurement techniques can result in data that is reproducible, and when combined with the establishment of normal values for different gestational ages can be of clinical application universally, particularly in selected groups of patients at risk of potentially lethal arrhythmias.