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Detection of ventricular fibrillation using the autocorrelation function analysis of the ECG

Abstract:

A method is developed for the detection of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and life-threatening arrhythmias. The method is based on direct and simple peak analysis of the autocorrelation function (ACF). It can differentiate between VF (coarse and fine) and non-VF rhythms. ECG records during ventricular tachycardia (VT) and VF were obtained, and 4-s-long segments were digitized at 200 Hz and then split in three groups (VT, VF regular, and VF irregular). ACFs were computed, and positive peak P(j)(j = 1,2,...), RPL(j) = P(j)/2SE(1), TR(1) = P(1) width/lag P(1), and D(j) = P(j) - P(j + 1) were measured and calculated for each sample. Results show that: a) RPL(j)(j = 1,2,3) together with D(j) present high specificity to discriminate between VT and VF; and b) TR(1) and those parameters make it possible to discriminate between SVT and ventricular-originated tachyarrhythmias. The method is reliable and simple.