A microcomputer-based prototype for ECG paper record conversion
✍ Scribed by Jian Tao Wang; Dinesh P. Mital
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 430 KB
- Volume
- 19
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1084-8045
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✦ Synopsis
ECG signals (electrocardiogram) are usually recorded onto standard grid papers in hospitals as a routine clinical examination for diagnosis of possible cardiac failure. There is a need to convert the existing ECG paper records into electronic forms for efficient retrieval for clinical uses. This paper presents a system prototype designed to convert ECG paper records into electronic ECG recording forms so that they can be either efficiently retrieved as needed, or analysed by ECG signal processing algorithms, or transmitted through computer networks for clinical purposes. In the current system prototype, the scanned binary images of ECG paper records are analysed by using image processing techniques, such as filtering and thinning procedures. The extracted ECG waveforms are then stored and indexed in ASCII data files. A window based user-friendly interface is also incorporated to provide users with easy access to the system. Experimental results on sample ECG paper records are very encouraging and show promise of efficiency in ECG data storage and retrieval and easy manipulation for clinical uses. This paper also briefly discusses other possible alternative techniques such as frequency domain analysis being investigated in the current system prototyping for ECG paper record conversion.