Wavelet compression of ECG signals by the set partitioning in hierarchical trees algorithm

• Published in: IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering Vol. 47; no. 7; pp. 849 - 856
• Main Authors: Zhitao Lu, Dong Youn Kim, Pearlman, W.A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.07.2000; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Algorithms; Arrhythmias, Cardiac - physiopathology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical Engineering; Biomedical equipment; Bit error rate; Codecs; Compression algorithms; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Database systems; Databases, Factual; Electrocardiography; Electrocardiography - statistics & numerical data; Electrocardiography. Vectocardiography; Electrodiagnosis. Electric activity recording; Humans; Image coding; Image compression; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Medical sciences; Partitioning algorithms; Signal processing; Signal processing algorithms; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Signal resolution; Wavelet transforms; Human; Partition method; Data compression; Tree structure; Hierarchized structure; Electrodiagnosis; Algorithm performance; Wavelet transformation; Coding; Electrocardiography; Myocardium; Circulatory system; Signal analysis
• ISSN: 0018-9294; 1558-2531
• DOI: 10.1109/10.846678

A wavelet electrocardiogram (ECG) data codec based on the set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) compression algorithm is proposed in this paper. The SPIHT algorithm (A. Said and W.A. Pearlman, IEEE Trans. Ccts. Syst. II, vol. 6, p. 243-50, 1996) has achieved notable success in still image coding. The authors modified the algorithm for the one-dimensional case and applied it to compression of ECG data. Experiments on selected records from the MIT-BIH arrhythmia database revealed that the proposed codec is significantly more efficient in compression and in computation than previously proposed ECG compression schemes. The coder also attains exact bit rate control and generates a bit stream progressive in quality or rate.