Method of enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of measured electrocardiogram (ECG) signals and a cardiac device for use in detecting heartbeats

摘要

According to the present invention, a method of enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of measured electrocardiogram (ECG) signals is provided. The method comprises the steps of providing at least three cardiac input signals derived from the measured ECG signals S 1 and forming a first estimate U 1 S 2 from each of at least three pairs of input signals. Moreover, the method comprises the step of forming a second estimate U 2 S 3 from each of at least three input signals; comparing S 4 the polarity and the amplitude of a first and second estimate U 1 , U 2 to at least one threshold T; generating S 5 a composite signal X, wherein the polarity and the amplitude of the composite signal X depend on the result of the comparison; and using S 6 the generated composite signal X to produce an output signal with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Furthermore, a corresponding cardiac device is provided.