This is an exciting new initiative to bring together experts in labour monitoring and fetal heart rate analysis to critically review and discuss current issues such as: new technology; comprehensive digital databases; statistical analysis; classification; clinical practice and challenges. There will be several invited talks with plenty of time for questions and discussion. Post-doctoral, PhD and young researchers are most welcome. There will be a networking session with brief introductions from different research groups and excellent opportunities for socialising including a workshop dinner on the 18th March in a local restaurant.

There will be invited talks on the clinical aspects of labour monitoring and fetal physiology as well as computerised CTG and heart rate variability, and we will be looking into providing a truly multidisciplinary forum and spirit. The clinical and signal processing researchers can learn to understand each other and talk the same language.

Prof Christopher Redman, University of Oxford: "Can fetal monitoring be based on science?"

Prof Patrice Abry, ENS Lyon: "Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Variability and Early Acidosis Detection from Multiscale Analysis"

Prof Maria Signorini, Politecnico di Milano: "Study of the fetal heart rate variability signal. How signal processing approaches can improve the current pathophysiological knowledge of the fetal life."

Austin Ugwumadu, PhD FRCOG, St George's Hospital, London: "Fetal cardiovascular and metabolic adaptation to intrapartum hypoxia - what is the clinician looking for?"

Philip Warrick, PhD, Perigen Inc., Montreal: "Automated fetal surveillance: data parsimony for fetal state assessment"

Prof Karl Rosen, Neoventor, Kungalv: "Fetal reactivity in labour – FDA approval and beyond"

Prof Rik Vullings, Eindhoven University of Technology: "Non-invasive fetal electrocardiography and electrohysterography for monitoring the fetal condition and progress of labour"

Prof Gerry Visser, Utrecht Medical Centre: "Intrapartum FHR monitoring; does it improve outcome or is it a risky business for fetus, mother and doctor?"

Prof Diogo Ayres-de-Campos, University of Porto: "The need for an international consensus on CTG interpretation"

Barry Schifrin, MD, California: "Reimagining fetal monitoring - asking the right questions"

Prof Petar Djuric, Stony Brook University, New York: "Fetal Heart Rate Classification Using Generative Models"

Václav Chudáček, PhD, Czech Technical University in Prague: Selected practical aspects of automated fetal heart rate analysis