Linear ECG-lead transformations (LELTs) are used to estimate unrecorded target leads by applying a number of recorded basis leads to a LELT matrix. Such LELT matrices are commonly developed using training datasets that are composed of ECGs that belong to different diagnostic classes (DCs). The aim of our research was to assess the influence of the training set composition on the estimation performance of LELTs that estimate target leads V1, V3, V4 and V6 from basis leads I, II, V2 and V5 of the 12-lead ECG. Our assessment was performed using ECGs from the three DCs left ventricular hypertrophy, right bundle branch block and normal (ECGs without abnormalities). Training sets with different DC compositions were used for the development of LELT matrices. These matrices were used to estimate the target leads of different test sets. The estimation performance of the developed matrices was quantified using root mean square error values calculated between derived and recorded target leads. Our findings indicate that unbalanced training sets can lead to LELTs that show large estimation performance variability across different DCs. Balanced training sets were found to produce LELTs that performed well across multiple DCs. We recommend balanced training sets for the development of LELTs.
Background: Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals are often contaminated by noise. Manual review of large ECG databases to identify noisy signals is time-consuming. Traditional signal quality assessment algorithms often do not generalize well or are computationally expensive. This study developed a Temporal Convolutional Neural Network (TCNN) to estimate the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of ECG signals. Method: We trained a TCNN on a proprietary database of 134,019 12-lead ECGs without any machine or human-added noise labels. Assuming that this data had high SNR, we randomly selected a single lead from each ECG and added random Gaussian noise. We then scaled the signals and added noise to give a negatively skewed normal distribution of true SNR values. We trained a TCNN to regress low- and high-frequency pseudo-SNR values from the raw noisy input signals. Results: On the testing dataset, the TCNN achieved a mean error of 0.31±1.80 dB and a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.96 for low-frequency pseudo-SNR. Similarly, for high-frequency pseudo-SNR, the mean error was 0.29±1.63 dB and the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.97. Conclusion: A Temporal Convolutional Neural Network can accurately estimate the SNR of unseen ECGs.
Linear ECG-lead transformations (LELTs) are used to estimate unrecorded leads by applying a number of recorded leads to a LELT matrix. Such LELT matrices are commonly developed using a training dataset and linear regression analysis. An important performance metric of LELTs is the subject-to-subject variability (SSV) of their estimation performance. In this research, we assess the relationship between an increasing training set size (from n=10 to n=370 subjects) and the SSV of LELTs. A total of 200 LELT matrices were developed for each training sets size. The developed LELT matrices and 12-lead ECG data of a testing dataset (n=123 subjects) were used for the estimation of Frank VCGs. Root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) values between recorded and estimated Frank VCG leads were used for the quantification of the estimation performance. The SSV associated with each LELT matrix was quantified as the standard deviation of the corresponding RMSE values. This was followed by an analysis of the relationship between the training set size and the associated SSV values. Increasing the training set size from 10 to 180, to 160 and to 200 subjects, for Frank VCG leads X,Y and Z respectively, was associated with a reduction of the observed SSV. Further increases in training set size were found to only have a marginal effect on the observed SSV.
Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs) have been shown to provide improved performance over traditional heuristic algorithms for the detection of arrhythmias from ambulatory ECG recordings. However, these DCNNs have primarily been trained and tested on device-specific databases with standardized electrode positions and uniform sampling frequencies. This work explores the possibility of training a DCNN for Atrial Fibrillation (AF) detection on a database of single‑lead ECG rhythm strips extracted from resting 12‑lead ECGs. We then test the performance of the DCNN on recordings from ambulatory ECG devices with different recording leads and sampling frequencies.
We developed an extensive proprietary resting 12‑lead ECG dataset of 549,211 patients. This dataset was randomly split into a training set of 494,289 patients and a testing set of the remaining 54,922 patients. We trained a 34-layer convolutional DCNN to detect AF and other arrhythmias on this dataset. The DCNN was then validated on two Physionet databases commonly used to benchmark automated ECG algorithms (1) MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database and (2) MIT-BIH Atrial Fibrillation Database. Validation was performed following the EC57 guidelines, with performance assessed by gross episode and duration sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV). Finally, validation was also performed on a selection of rhythm strips from an ambulatory ECG patch that a committee of board-certified cardiologists annotated.
On MIT-BIH, The DCNN achieved a sensitivity of 100% and 84% PPV in detecting episodes of AF. and 100% sensitivity and 94% PPV in quantifying AF episode duration. On AFDB, The DCNN achieved a sensitivity of 94% and PPV of 98% in detecting episodes of AF, and 98% sensitivity and 100% PPV in quantifying AF episode duration. On the patch database, the DCNN demonstrated performance that was closely comparable to that of a cardiologist.
The results indicate that DCNN models can learn features that generalize between resting 12‑lead and ambulatory ECG recordings, allowing DCNNs to be device agnostic for detecting arrhythmias from single‑lead ECG recordings and enabling a range of clinical applications.