Patent ID: 7379770

Claim:
A method of measuring the heart rate of a human being from a stream of incoming ECG signals, the method including the steps of: selecting and then characterising a reference QRS complex from said stream of incoming ECG signals; wherein said reference QRS complex is selected by adopting a local amplitude maximum as the R peak of said reference QRS complex, said local amplitude maximum being present within a predetermined time window and said predetermined time window being a time window within which at least one QRS complex must occur among said stream of incoming ECG signals under normal conditions, and said reference QRS complex is characterised by taking amplitude-time samples of said reference QRS complex; seeking a first QRS complex from said stream of incoming ECG signals and characterising said first QRS complex by taking amplitude-time samples of said QRS complex for comparison of waveform similarity with said reference QRS complex, said first QRS complex being selected from said incoming ECG signals upon satisfying a first set of criteria of: i. satisfying a threshold level of waveform similarity with said reference QRS complex, ii. having an amplitude peak within a prescribed range of time from said reference QRS, and iii. having its peak amplitude within a prescribed range of the peak amplitude of said reference QRS; and evaluating a reference heart-rate from said first QRS complex and said reference QRS complex.