ECG Signal Segmentation for Irregular Waveform Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
In cardiac procedures, irregularly recurring electrocardiogram (ECG) signals during conditions like atrial fibrillation are difficult to distinguish due to their periodic but irregular nature, making it challenging to visualize key waveform features.
Innovation Solution
A method that partitions ECG signals into synchronized segments using a common annotation point, overlays these segments on a display screen with aligned baselines, and applies a decaying intensity function to enhance visibility, with overlapping intensities summed to emphasize recurring waveforms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If ECG signals are displayed in traditional potential vs. time format, then the display is simple and straightforward, but irregularly recurring waveforms during atrial fibrillation are difficult to distinguish and visualize
Solution Approach 1:
The ECG signal is divided into multiple cardiac cycles, with each cycle segmented and assigned a different display intensity. This segmentation allows irregular waveforms to be distinguished by their varying intensities across cycles, resolving the contradiction between simple display and waveform visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The display intensity parameter is varied across different cardiac cycles to highlight irregular waveforms. By changing the intensity parameter rather than the basic time-domain representation, the system maintains simplicity while improving waveform detectability.
2Stability of the object's composition
If multiple ECG cycles are displayed with equal intensity, then the display remains consistent, but irregularly recurring features that occur in only some cycles become indistinguishable
Solution Approach 1:
Different segments of the ECG signal (individual cardiac cycles) are assigned different display intensities based on their local characteristics. This local differentiation allows irregular features in specific cycles to be highlighted while maintaining the overall structured display format.
Solution Approach 2:
The display applies periodic intensity modulation across successive cardiac cycles, creating a pattern where irregular waveforms can be identified by their periodic appearance at specific intensity levels, thus preserving information about rhythm irregularities.
3Device complexity
If traditional oscilloscope display methods are used, then the equipment and method are simple, but the ability to detect and analyze irregular periodic signals is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The display system introduces dynamic intensity variation across cardiac cycles, transforming a static display approach into a dynamic one. This allows the system to detect and emphasize irregular waveforms without requiring complex additional hardware, maintaining simplicity while improving detection precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for display, consisting of acquiring an electrical signal from a heart of a subject over multiple heart cycles. The electrical signal is partitioned into a succession of synchronized segments having respective start times at a selected annotation point in the heart cycles. The method includes overlaying respective graphical representations of the synchronized segments in the succession on a display screen, such that each segment is first presented on the display screen with an initial display intensity at a respective display time corresponding to a respective start time of the segment. The method further includes gradually decreasing a display intensity of each segment overlaid on the display screen as a decaying function of a time elapsed since the respective display time.