Digitization of Electrocardiography Data Sheet Through Image Processing Techniques.

Electrocardiography is one of the most practiced methods to detect any abnormalities in the heart function. Electrocardiogram (ECG) reports are usually available as paper records. The archival and retrieval of patients' ECG record papers require a large storage space and extensive manual effort. Several methods are presented to convert ECG information from paper charts into digital signal form. A code is developed that involves processing the ECG sheets by a set of digital image processing techniques for conversion of ECG sheet image to time digitized signal, resulting in automated analysis ability and convenient storage and retrieval of information. To perform the conversion, first the image is converted from RGB image to gray scale image. The existing method is modified to convert the RGB image to gray scale image by using the 'R' layer of the image. Then the grid lines are removed on ECG paper using two methods: gray scale thresholding and edge detection. A third method, which is signal enhancement by pixel value incrementing, successfully removes the gridlines. After that all the leads in the ECG image are segmented. Finally, the ECG signal based on its contour is digitized using a column-wise pixel 2D to 1D mapping. After the accomplishment of the above task, the ECG signals extracted from paper/sheet are ready for processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]