ELECTROCARDIAC COMPUTER

• US 3,858,034 A
• Filed: 10/19/1973
• Issued: 12/31/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Donald L. Anderson
• Original Assignee: Donald L. Anderson
• Inventors: Anderson, Donald L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruggiero, Joseph F.
• Application Number:
  US05/407,794
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• Field of Search: 235/151.3,151,193 444/1 128/2.6R,2.6A,2.6E
• US Class Current: 600/516
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/358 Detecting ST segments
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/366 Detecting abnormal QRS complex, e.g. widening
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7239 using differentiation including higher order derivatives

Abstract

An electrocardiac computer for determining and displaying the existence of certain abnormalities in ECG complexes. The ECG signal input is processed electronically to recognize and indicate the occurrence of excessively wide Q-R-S events within the ECG complexes and to total the number of such occurrences during a period of time, and to determine and subsequently display the level of elevation or depression, slope, shape and integral of the S-T segment portion of each ECG complex containing a normal QRS event.

Claims

1. An ECG computer for processing ECG complexes each having at least an iso-electric portion, a QRS section, and an S-T segment, including:

first means responsive to the ECG complexes for providing output signals representing the detection of wide or normal QRS sections, second means coupled to the first means and responsive to the detection of wide QRS sections to provide an output indication of the wide QRS sections, third means coupled to the first means and responsive to the detection of normal QRS sections to provide a control signal representing the detection of normal QRS sections, fourth means coupled to the third means and responsive to the control signal and the ECG complexes to analyze the S-T segments by averaging over a plurality of the ECG complexes and with the analysis in response to the control signal representing the detection of normal QRS sections.

2. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the first means includes further means to provide a digital signal representing the wide QRS sections.

3. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the first means detects wide QRS sections using at least one voltage comparator to determine the length of time the potential of the QRS section is greater than a reference voltage.

4. The ECG computer of claim 3, wherein the ECG complexes are converted into rate-of-change signals and wherein the first means includes a pair of voltage comparators to determine the length of time the potential of the QRS section is greater than the reference voltages of either of the pair of voltage comparators.

5. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to inhibit the analysis of the S-T segment when the iso-electric portion includes variations in potential greater than a predetermined level.

6. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the level of the S-T segment.

7. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the level of the S-T segment and the elevation or depression of the S-T segment relative to the iso-electric portion of the ECG complex.

8. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the slope of the S-T segment.

9. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the slope of the S-T segment and to compute the direction of the slope.

10. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the shape of the S-T segment.

11. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the integral of the S-T segment.

12. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth means includes means to compute the level, slope, shape and integral of the S-T segment.

13. The ECG computer of claim 1, wherein the fourth meAns includes means for sampling the S-T segment at a plurality of points.

14. The ECG computer of claim 13, additionally including fifth means for displaying the ECG complex and including displaying the sample points within the complex.

15. An ECG computer for processing ECG complexes having at least an iso-electric portion, a QRS section, and an S-T segment, including:

first means responsive to the ECG complexes for providing output signals representing the detection of wide QRS sections wherein the first means includes means to detect wide QRS sections using at least one voltage comparator to determine the length of time the potential of the QRS section is greater than a reference voltage in the ECG complexes, second means coupled to the first means and responsive to the detection of wide QRS sections to provide an output indication of the wide QRS sections, and third means coupled to the ECG complexes to compute the leve, slope, shape and integral of the S-T segment and with the third means including means responsive to the detection of wide QRS sections to inhibit the analysis of the S-T segment upon such detection.

16. The ECG computer of claim 15, wherein the first means includes further means to provide a digital signal representing the wide QRS sections.

17. The ECG computer of claim 15, wherein the ECG complexes are converted into rate-of-change signals and wherein the first means includes a pair of voltage comparators to determine the length of time the potential of the QRS section is greater than the reference voltages of either of the pair of voltage comparators.

18. The ECG computer of claim 5, wherein the third means further includes means to inhibit the analysis of the S-T segment when the iso-electric portion includes variations in potential greater than a predetermined level.

19. The ECG computer of claim 5 wherein the third means includes means for sampling the S-T segment at a plurality of points.

20. The ECG computer of claim 19 additionally including fourth means for displaying the ECG complex and including displaying the sample points within the complex.

21. An ECG computer for processing ECG complexes each having at least an iso-electric portion, a QRS section, and an S-T segment, including:

first means responsive to the iso-electric portion of the ECG complexes for normalizing the ECG complexes to provide the iso-electric portions at zero potential, second means responsive to the normalized ECG complexes to sample the S-T segment of the normalized ECG complexes at a plurality of points to provide a plurality of sample signals for each ECG complex, and third means coupled to the second means and responsive to the sample signals to analyze the S-T segments in accordance with the sample signals by averaging over a plurality of ECG complexes.

22. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to inhibit the analysis of the S-T segment when the iso-electric portion includes variations in potential greater than a predetermined level.

23. The ECG computer of claim 21 additionally including means for detecting wide or normal QRS sections and for controlling the analyzing of S-T segments of the ECG complexes with only normal QRS sections.

24. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the level of the S-T segment.

25. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the level of the S-T segment and the elevation or depression of the S-T segment relative to the iso-electric portion of the ECG complex.

26. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the slope of the S-T segment.

27. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the slope of the S-T segment ad to compute the direction of the slope.

28. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the shape of the S-T segment.

29. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the integral of the S-T segment.

30. The ECG computer of claim 21 wherein the third means includes means to compute the level, slope, shape and integral of the S-T segment.

31. The ECG computer of claim 21 additionally including fourth means coupled to the third means to display the analysis of the S-T segment.

32. The ECG computer of claim 21 additionally including fourth means for displaying the ECG complex and including displaying the sample points within the complex.