Method and system for the extraction of cardiac artifacts from EEG signals

• US 5,792,069 A
• Filed: 12/24/1996
• Issued: 08/11/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nellcor Puritan Bennett LLC (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Greenwald, Scott D., Smith, Charles P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahr, Jennifer
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUANG, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US08/773,100
• Time in Patent Office: 595 Days
• Field of Search: 128/731, 128/732, 128/691, 607/45, 607/5, 607/9, 600/544, 600/545, 600/504, 600/528, 600/509
• US Class Current: 600/544
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7217 of noise originating from a therapeutic or surgical apparatus, e.g. from a pacemaker

Abstract

The disclosed filter removes cardiac artifacts from signals representative of a patient'"'"'s cerebral activity. The filter preferably replaces portions of the signal including artifacts with temporally adjacent artifact free portions.

Claims

1. A system for processing a signal representative of cerebral activity, said signal including at least one cardiac artifact, the system comprising:

means for identifying a first region and a second region of said signal, said first region including one of said cardiac artifacts, said second region being temporally adjacent said first region;

means for copying said second region of said signal into said first region of said signal.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein said second region precedes said first region.

3. A system according to claim 1, further including means for suppressing discontinuities between said first and second regions.

4. A system according to claim 1, further including means for smoothly connecting said first and second regions.

5. A system according to claim 1, wherein said signal is an EEG signal.

6. A system according to claim 1, wherein said artifact in said first region is an ECG artifact.

7. A system according to claim 1, wherein said artifact in said first region is a pacer artifact.

8. An artifact reduction filter for processing an input signal representative of cerebral activity, a first interval of said input signal being substantially free of cardiac artifacts, a second interval of said input signal including a cardiac artifact, said artifact reduction filter generating a reduced artifact output signal, said reduced artifact output signal including a first interval corresponding temporally to said first interval of said input signal and including a second interval corresponding temporally to said second interval of said input signal, said artifact reduction filter using said first interval of said input signal to generate said first interval of said reduced artifact output signal, said artifact reduction filter using a portion of said input signal other than said second interval to generate said second interval of said reduced artifact output signal.

9. An artifact reduction filter according to claim 8, wherein said portion of said input signal other than said second interval comprises a portion of said input signal temporally adjacent said second interval.

10. An artifact reduction filter according to claim 9, wherein said portion of said input signal other than said second interval comprises a portion of said first interval of said input signal.

11. An artifact reduction filter according to claim 8, further comprising a smoothing filter for smoothing an intersection between said first and second intervals of said reduced artifact output signal.

12. An artifact reduction filter according to claim 8, further comprising an artifact detection filter, said artifact detection filter receiving said input signal and generating therefrom an artifact location signal representative of a temporal location of said cardiac artifact in said input signal.

13. An artifact reduction filter according to claim 12, further comprising an artifact removing filter, said artifact removing filter receiving said input signal and said artifact location signal and generating therefrom said reduced artifact output signal.

14. A filter for receiving and processing first and second input signals primarily representative of cerebral activity, a first interval of said first input signal being substantially free of cardiac artifacts, a second interval of said first input signal including a cardiac artifact, said filter generating a reduced artifact output signal, said reduced artifact output signal including a first interval temporally corresponding to said first interval of said first input signal and a second interval temporally corresponding to said second interval of said first input signal, said filter using said first interval of said first input signal to generate said first interval of said reduced artifact output signal, said filter using a portion of said second input signal to generate said second interval of said output signal.

17. A filter according to claim 14, wherein said first and second input signals are EEG signals.

18. A filter according to claim 14, wherein said first input signal is generated in response to a signal generated by an EEG electrode.

19. A filter according to claim 14, wherein said filter uses said second input signal and not said first input signal to generate said second interval of said output signal.

15. A method of generating a reduced artifact output signal from an input signal representative of cerebral activity comprising:

using the input signal to generate the reduced artifact output signal when the input signal does not include a cardiac artifact;

using a portion of the input signal distinct from the cardiac artifact to generate the reduced artifact output signal when the input signal does include a cardiac artifact.

16. A method of generating a reduced artifact output signal from a first input signal primarily representative of cerebral activity and a second input signal primarily representative of cerebral activity comprising:

using the first input signal to generate the reduced artifact output signal when the first input signal does not include a cardiac artifact;

using a portion of the second input signal to generate the reduced artifact output signal when the first input signal does include a cardiac artifact.

20. A method according to claim 16, wherein said first and second input signals are EEG signals.

21. A method according to claim 16, wherein said first input signal is generated in response to a signal generated by an EEG electrode.

22. A method according to claim 16, wherein using a portion of the second input signal to generate the reduced artifact output signal when the first input signal does include a cardiac artifact comprises using the second input signal and not the first input signal.