METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SAMPLE ELECTROCARDIOGRAMS

• US 3,824,990 A
• Filed: 06/30/1971
• Issued: 07/23/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Gerhard M. Baule
• Original Assignee: Gerhard M. Baule
• Inventors: Baule, Gerhard M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Application Number:
  US05/158,481
• Time in Patent Office: 1,119 Days
• Field of Search: 128/2.6A,2.6B,2.6F,2.6G,2.6R
• US Class Current: 600/515
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0245 by using sensing means generating electric signals, i.e. ECG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/337 Playback at speeds other than the recording speed
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/338 Recording by printing on paper

Abstract

An electronic instrument for medical use measures the time intervals between QRS complex portions of the electrical signal wave representing heartbeats. The intervals are quantized in digital form. The occurence of each subinterval is stored. Every incoming time interval is compared with the stored values. The instrument, upon receiving and comparing a novel interval, for example, either too short or too long, will activate an electrocardiograph recorder. The instrument produces a relatively small number of electrocardiographic (ECG) records, in the form of paper strips, but those strips are likely to contain a history of arrhythmic heart activity.

Claims

1. The method of automatically recording arrhythmic heartbeats in a patient, comprising attaching electrodes to the patient to a monitor his heartbeat, amplifying the electrical wave signals received on the electrodes, measuring the time intervals between similar portions of the said electrical wave signals, converting said timed intervals into quantified interval and, by the employment of an electronic circuit, storing the set of said quantified intervals, comparing subsequent intervals with said set of stored intervals and commencing the recording of an electrocardiogram and storing of said subsequent interval upon the comparison of an interval which does not match any of said set of stored intervals.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the said similar portions of the signals are the peaks of the QRS complex.

3. The method of claim 1 and including the step of operating the recorder after the said commencement for a short predetermined time period.

4. An instrument for the detection of arrhythmic heartbeats, including electrodes adapted to be connected to a patient, an amplifier connected to said electrodes, a detector of a selected portion of the wave signal and a signal delay device both connected to said amplifier, an interval timer to time the interval between heartbeats connected to said detector, a memory device connected to said timer to store a set of said intervals, each oNe of which is different from the others of the set, a comparison device connected with said detector and to said storage device to compare intervals with said set of stored intervals and to produce an operating pulse and to store said composed interval only upon a finding of non-identity, an ECG recorder connected to said delay device and connected in series with said comparison device, and a period timer connected to said recorder, whereby upon receipt of said operating pulse said recorder records the signals from said delay device for the period set by said period timer.

5. An instrument as in claim 4 wherein said detector is a detector of the peaks of the QRS complex and produces a trigger pulse only at each said peak.