Comparing twelve-lead electrocardiography with close-to-heart patch based electrocardiography

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiology
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Patch-type ECG monitors (PEMs) offer advantages over conventional systems.
• Unconventional electrode placement in PEMs can alter ECG signal morphology, complicating interpretation.
• Clinical validation of PEM data against standard 12-lead ECG is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare ECG recordings from the ePatch® system with standard 12-lead ECG.
• To assess the feasibility of deriving 12-lead ECG from PEM data.
• To identify unique information captured by PEMs.

Main Methods:

• Concurrent recording of ePatch® (3 torso sites) and standard 12-lead ECG.
• Calculation of Pearson's correlation coefficients (CC) between PEM and 12-lead ECG signals.
• Derivation of 12-lead ECG from PEM leads using subject-specific linear transforms.

Main Results:

• High CC values (e.g., -0.90 for aVR, 0.91 for V2) between PEM and standard ECG leads.
• CC values for derived 12-lead ECG from PEM data ranged from 0.78 to 0.96.
• PEM ECG lead correlations ranged from 0.88 to 0.95.
• Identification of "residual" information in PEM signals, including a post-T-wave negative deflection.

Conclusions:

• The ePatch® system provides ECG data highly correlated with standard 12-lead ECG.
• Linear transforms can effectively derive 12-lead ECG from PEM data.
• PEMs capture unique cardiac electrical information potentially valuable for clinical assessment.