Electrocardiogram signal quality estimation by the similarity of heartbeat morphology and wave slope character
Zhang Yu
Xu Zhi
Yu Xinming
Song Jinzhong
Cao Zhongping
Xiong Linghao
Xuan Yong
Abstract：Objective Electrocardiogram(ECG)signal quality degrades when the level of activity is high and motion artifacts are severe.Poor quality signals may result in false alarms,poor patient monitoring,imprecise measurement,and misleading diagnosis.The quantitative assessment of ECG signal quality forms the basis of automatic ECG noise reduction and heart disease diagnosis.Methods The ECG signal quality index(SQI)was obtained by statistically analyzing the heartbeat similarity and the slope character,respectively,namely rSQI and kSQI.Results Using MIT-BIH Noise Stress Test Database to test,both rSQI and kSQI decreased when the Signal Noise Ratio(SNR)decreased,which revealed the ECG signal quality.Based on the quasiperiodic property,the waveform similarity,as a beat-to-beat index,is obtained by cross correlation between two ECG cycles with high precision but heavy computation.Slope-based method dispenses with QRS detection and is very simple and real-time,but its sensitivity is lower than similarity-based method and it only get statistical data.Conclusion Both morphology similarity and slope character algorithms could provide objective estimation of ECG quality.Slope-based method is an attractive measure due to its simplicity and mathematical convenience,while similarity-based method is more accurate and robust for ECG quality assessment.
Keywords：electrocardiogramsignal noise ratio(SNR)signal quality index(SQI)ECG signal quality assessmentheartbeat waveform similarity
Publication Date：2025-06-25
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 225-229 )