Patent ID: 6850796
Filing Date: 2005-02-01
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
1. A method for identifying and measuring electrocardiographic altemans from at least one electrocardiographic (ECG) signal representative of the electric activity of a heart of a patient, the method comprising the steps of: obtaining the ECG signal over a predetermined number of cardiac cycles of the patient's heart; dividing the ECG signal into its individual cardiac cycles, each cardiac cycle having a depolarization portion and a repolarization portion; dividing the repolarization portion of each cardiac cycle into a plurality of repolarization segments; separately measuring the amplitude of each of the plurality of repolarization segments contained in the repolarization portion during each cardiac cycle, the amplitude of each repolarization segment for each cardiac cycle being measured from a repolarization reference baseline drawn between a first base segment occurring immediately prior to the repolarization portion of the present cardiac cycle and a second base segment occurring immediately prior to the depolarization portion of the subsequent cardiac cycle; and digitally processing the amplitude measurements for the repolarization segments to determine the presence of alternans in the physiologic signals.