Open Source ECG Analysis Software Documentation

Computer analysis of ECG signals is common today. Devices on the market that analyze ECGs, such as patient monitors, stress test systems, and Holter analysis systems, do a good job of detecting beats and classifying arrhythmias. However, new companies are constantly emerging and applying new technologies, such as PDAs, in an effort to make smaller and cheaper ECG analysis systems. Other companies are using ECG gating to improve imaging of the heart. Each new company that produces a product that requires ECG analysis must implement their own ECG analysis software, duplicating the efforts of every other company. Similarly, researchers who need ECG analysis to explore new diagnostic methods, such as the analysis of heart rate variability, must also implement their own versions of basic ECG analysis functions. Thirty years of research on computer analysis of ECG signals has produced a great many methods for detecting beats and classifying ECG signals, but there is still a significant effort required to go from theory to implementation.