Automatic detection of ST-T complex changes on the ECG using filtered RMS difference series: application to ambulatory ischemia monitoring

IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2000 Sep;47(9):1195-201. doi: 10.1109/10.867943.

Abstract

A new detector is presented which finds changes in the repolarization phase (ST-T complex) of the cardiac cycle. It operates by applying a detection algorithm to the filtered root mean square (rms) series of differences between the beat segment (ST segment or ST-T complex) and an average pattern segment. The detector has been validated using the European ST-T database, which contains ST-T complex episodes manually annotated by cardiologists, resulting in sensitivity/positive predictivity of 85/86%, and 85/76%, for ST segment deviations and ST-T complex changes, respectively. The proposed detector has a performance similar to those which have a more complicated structure. The detector has the advantage of finding both ST segment deviations and entire ST-T complex changes thereby providing a wider characterization of the potential ischemic events. A post-processing stage, based on a cross-correlation analysis for the episodes in the rms series, is presented. With this stage subclinical events with repetitive pattern were found in around 20% of the recordings and improved the performance to 90/85%, and 89/76%, for ST segment and ST-T complex changes, respectively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Databases, Factual
  • Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted
  • Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / statistics & numerical data*
  • Humans
  • Myocardial Ischemia / diagnosis*
  • Myocardial Ischemia / physiopathology