Acceptable ECG trace selection based on Pan-Tompkins algorithm

In a number of ECG systems the acceptable trace is still selected manually. An able technician decides whether a trace is good enough for final selection. This process at times can be error prone. In case of telemedicine, sometimes automatic detection of the acceptable trace is necessary, as there may not be available personnel to select an acceptable trace manually. Thus an algorithm for detecting acceptable trace automatically can be a simple yet very important aspect of an ECG system in certain conditions. In this paper a method is proposed to detect an ECG acceptable trace automatically. Information on amplitude and position of QRS complexes are acquired by applying Pan-Tompkins algorithm and based on those a decision making algorithm is developed which compares the normalized amplitude and position index of the QRS complexes with the raw ECG signal. The analysis leads to rejecting ECG signals which deviate from isoelectric line and accepts an ECG signal for tracing only when it is free of any such deviation.