Physiological Signal Quality Indicator for Medical Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clinicians face challenges in identifying representative subsets of long-term physiological signals, such as ECG signals, due to noise and artifacts, which mask diagnostic features and make it time-consuming to distinguish between poor quality signals and rhythm or morphology changes, especially when reviewing signals spanning more than an hour.
Innovation Solution
A medical display system and method that determines signal quality over time and displays it adjacent to the physiological signal using a compressed time scale, allowing clinicians to differentiate between good, fair, and poor signal quality, thereby aiding in the identification of clinically important changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If a compressed time scale is used to display long-term physiological signals, then the overview of the entire signal period is improved, but the ability to distinguish diagnostic features from noise and artifacts deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the physiological signal display into two distinct components: the compressed physiological signal waveform and an adjacent expanded signal quality indicator. This segmentation allows the main signal to be viewed in compressed format for efficiency while the quality indicator provides expanded, detailed quality information side-by-side, resolving the contradiction between time efficiency and diagnostic precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a spatial dimension by placing the signal quality indicator adjacent to the physiological signal in a separate visual channel. This dimensional separation allows clinicians to simultaneously view both the compressed signal and quality metrics without compromising either, enabling quick quality assessment while maintaining time efficiency.
2Measurement precision
If clinicians manually scan all signal portions to identify good quality segments, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but the time required for signal review increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary quality assessment and displays quality indicators before the clinician needs to make diagnostic decisions. By pre-calculating and displaying signal quality metrics in the expanded indicator, the system eliminates the need for manual scanning while maintaining diagnostic accuracy, as quality information is already prepared and visible.
Solution Approach 2:
The signal quality indicator acts as an intermediary between the compressed physiological signal and the clinician's diagnostic process. It translates complex signal quality characteristics into simplified visual indicators that can be quickly interpreted, enabling accurate quality assessment without time-consuming manual review.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If noise and artifacts are present in the physiological signal, then the signal spans the required monitoring period, but the diagnostic features become masked and undetectable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts signal quality information from the physiological signal and displays it separately in the expanded quality indicator. This extraction removes the masking effect of noise and artifacts from the main signal view, allowing diagnostic features to remain visible in the compressed signal while quality issues are separately identified in the indicator.
Solution Approach 2:
The signal quality indicator uses color coding to represent different quality levels, making it easy to distinguish between segments with and without significant noise or artifacts. This visual differentiation helps clinicians quickly identify which time periods contain usable diagnostic information despite the presence of noise in the original signal.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical display system (16) and method display physiological signals. A physiological signal of a patient (14) is received, the physiological signal spanning a period of time. Signal quality of the physiological signal over the period of time is determined. An ECG signal (52) is displayed using a compressed time scale and the determined signal quality (54)n over time is displayed adjacent to the displayed physiological signal.