Cardiac model based approach to QT estimation

Because the direction of regulatory agencies requires the study of potential proarrhythmic side effects of drugs be conducted by skilled readers, the 2006 Physionet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge focuses on the need for clinically acceptable automatic measurement of the QT duration. This entry to the challenge approaches the problem from an inverse ECG perspective. The model parameters are estimated through the minimization of the squared error between the generated ECG signal from the activity of the AV node, endocardium and epicardium, and the recorded ECG. The PQ junction and the end of the T wave are determined from the activation and deactivation of the ventricular activity. This approach is tested on the PTB Diagnostic ECG Database, which contains 549 records from 294 subjects. The final score for this method was substantially improved from 130.70ms to 51.69ms as compared to the best score of 17.33ms for automatic methods.