Embedded filter bank-based algorithm for ECG compression

In this work, two ECG compression schemes are presented using two types of filter banks to decompose the incoming signal: wavelet packets (WP) and nearly-perfect reconstruction cosine modulated filter banks. The conventional embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) algorithm takes advantage of the hierarchical relationship among subband coefficients of the pyramidal wavelet decomposition. Nevertheless, it performs worse when used with WP as the hierarchy becomes more complex. In order to address this problem, we propose a new technique that considers no relationship among coefficients, and is therefore suitable for use with WP. Furthermore, this new approximation makes it possible to apply the quantization method toM-channel maximally decimated filter banks. In this fashion, the proposed algorithm provides two efficient and effective ECG compressors that show better ECG compression performance than the conventional EZW algorithm

Review: Recent Directions in ECG-FPGA Researches

لقد شهدت السنوات القليلة الماضية اهتماماً متزايداً نحو استخدام مصفوفة البوابات المنطقية القابلة للبرمجة FPGA في التطبيقات المختلفة. لقد أدى التقدم الحاصل في مرونة التعامل مع الموارد بالاضافة الى الزيادة في سرعة الاداء وانخفاض الثمن للـ FPGA وكذلك الاستهلاك القليل للطاقة الى هذا الاهتمام المتزايد بالـ FPGA. ان استخدام الـ FPGA في مجالات الطب والصحة يهدف بشكل عام الى استبدال اجهزة المراقبة الطبية كبيرة الحجم وغالية الثمن باخرى أصغر حجماً مع امكانية تصميمها لكي تكون اجهزة محمولة اعتماداً على مرونة التصميم التي يوفرها الـ FPGA. إنصب الاهتمام في العديد من البحوث الحالية على استخدام نظام FPGA لمعالجة الجوانب المتعلقة بإشارة تخطيط القلب وذلك لتوفير التحسينات في الاداء وزيادة السرعة بالاضافة الى أيجاد وإقتراح افكار جديدة لمثل هذه التطبيقات. ان هذا البحث يوفر نظرة عامة عن الاتجاهات الحالية في انظمة ECG-FPGA.The last few years witnessed an increased interest in utilizing field programmable gate array (FPGA) for a variety of applications. This utilizing derived mostly by the advances in the FPGA flexible resource configuration, increased speed, relatively low cost and low energy consumption. The introduction of FPGA in medicine and health care field aim generally to replace costly and usually bigger medical monitoring and diagnostic equipment with much smaller and possibly portable systems based on FPGA that make use of the design flexibility of FPGA. Many recent researches focus on FPGA systems to deal with the well-known yet very important electrocardiogram (ECG) signal aspects to provide acceleration and improvement in the performance as well as finding and proposing new ideas for such implementations. The recent directions in ECG-FPGA are introduced in this paper

Revisiting QRS detection methodologies for portable, wearable, battery-operated, and wireless ECG systems

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death worldwide. Currently, portable battery-operated systems such as mobile phones with wireless ECG sensors have the potential to be used in continuous cardiac function assessment that can be easily integrated into daily life. These portable point-of-care diagnostic systems can therefore help unveil and treat cardiovascular diseases. The basis for ECG analysis is a robust detection of the prominent QRS complex, as well as other ECG signal characteristics. However, it is not clear from the literature which ECG analysis algorithms are suited for an implementation on a mobile device. We investigate current QRS detection algorithms based on three assessment criteria: 1) robustness to noise, 2) parameter choice, and 3) numerical efficiency, in order to target a universal fast-robust detector. Furthermore, existing QRS detection algorithms may provide an acceptable solution only on small segments of ECG signals, within a certain amplitude range, or amid particular types of arrhythmia and/or noise. These issues are discussed in the context of a comparison with the most conventional algorithms, followed by future recommendations for developing reliable QRS detection schemes suitable for implementation on battery-operated mobile devices.Mohamed Elgendi, Björn Eskofier, Socrates Dokos, Derek Abbot

Optimal ECG Signal Denoising Using DWT with Enhanced African Vulture Optimization

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the world's leading cause of death; therefore cardiac health of the human heart has been a fascinating topic for decades. The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is a comprehensive non-invasive method for determining cardiac health. Various health practitioners use the ECG signal to ascertain critical information about the human heart. In this paper, the noisy ECG signal is denoised based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) optimized with the Enhanced African Vulture Optimization (AVO) algorithm and adaptive switching mean filter (ASMF) is proposed. Initially, the input ECG signals are obtained from the MIT-BIH ARR dataset and white Gaussian noise is added to the obtained ECG signals. Then the corrupted ECG signals are denoised using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) in which the threshold is optimized with an Enhanced African Vulture Optimization (AVO) algorithm to obtain the optimum threshold. The AVO algorithm is enhanced by Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). Additionally, ASMF is tuned by the Enhanced AVO algorithm. The experiments are conducted on the MIT-BIH dataset and the proposed filter built using the EAVO algorithm, attains a significant enhancement in reliable parameters, according to the testing results in terms of SNR, mean difference (MD), mean square error (MSE), normalized root mean squared error (NRMSE), peak reconstruction error (PRE), maximum error (ME), and normalized root mean error (NRME) with existing algorithms namely, PSO, AOA, MVO, etc

Performance of Ti-6242 production using nano powder mixed with different dielectrics

The recent scenario of modern manufacturing is tremendously improved in the sense of precision machining and abstaining from environmental pollution and hazard issues. In the present work, Ti�6242 is machined through wire EDM (WEDM) process with powder mixed dielectric and analyzed the influence of input parameters and inherent hazard issues. WEDM has different parameters such as peak current, pulse on time, pulse off time, gap voltage, wire-speed, wire tension, and so on, as well as dielec�trics with powder mixed. These are playing an essential role in WEDM performances to improve the pro�cess efficiency by developing the metal removal rate. Even though the parameter’s influencing, the study of the nano dielectric effect in the WEDM process is very essential during the machining process due to the high discharge energy. In the present study, two different dielectric fluids were used, including deio�nised water, and nanopowder dielectrically, and analyzed the data by taking the response surface method to use program design expert 10. From this study, it is established that dielectric types and powder sig�nificantly improve performances with a proper set of machining parameters and find out the risk factor associated with the WEDM process

Multiplier Free Implementation of 8-tap Daubechies Wavelet Filters for Biomedical Applications

Due to an increasing demand for on-sensor biosignal processing in wireless ambulatory applications, it is crucial to reduce the power consumption and hardware cost of the signal processing units. Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is very popular tool in artifact removal, detection and compression for time-frequency analysis of biosignals and can be implemented as two-branch filter bank. This work proposes a new, completely multiplier free filter architecture for implementing Daubechies wavelets which targets Field-Programmable-Gate-Array (FPGA) technologies by replacing multipliers with Reconfigurable Multiplier Blocks (ReMBs). The results have shown that the proposed technique reduces the hardware complexity by 40% in terms of Look-Up Table (LUT) count and can be used in low-cost embedded platforms for ambulatory physiological signal monitoring and analysis

Extracting Fetal ECG from a Single Maternal Abdominal Record

This work presents the variations of photoplethysmogram (ECG) morphology with age. ECG measurement is done noninvasively at the index finger on both right and left hands for a sample of erectile dysfunction (ED) subjects. Some parameters are derived from the analysis of ECG contour showed in association with age. The age is found to be an important factor that affects the contour of ECG signals which accelerates the disappearance of ECG’s dicrotic notch and ECG’s inflection point as well. Arterial compliance is found to be degraded with age due to the fall of arterial elasticity. This study approaches the establishment of usefulness of ECG’s contour analysis as an investigator to the changes in the elastic properties of the vascular system, and as a detector of early sub-clinical atherosclerosis