Interpretation module for screening normal ECG.

Abstract

This work concerns the development of a module for automatic recognition of normal ECGs, i.e. those whose waves morphology do not suggest physiopathological or structural heart alterations. Such a unit constitutes the central part of an administrative system under development which will aid in the management of ECG testing in the primary care delivery level in Chile. This system greatly contributes to the optimal allocation of resources in order to increase the test delivery coverage and to reduce the social and private costs involved. A main feature of the system is that it operates through the screening of normal ECG. This process is performed in a computerized unit whose core is the interpretation module. The design of such a module uses concepts and methods previously developed for the general problem of medical diagnosis, based on fuzzy set theory. The interpretation module parameters were adjusted considering hypothetical and real data covering a wide variety of normal and pathological cases. Then its performance was tested using more than one hundred patients' records chosen at random. Results of this test are given and a discussion, including a comparison with similar commercial equipment, is provided.