A personal computer-based arrhythmia generator based on mathematical models of cardiac arrhythmia

A personal computer-based arrhythmia generator has been developed based upon mathematical models of modulated parasystole and the related equations. A system of nonlinear difference equations is used to generate the time series of RR intervals of ECG that contain normal as well as ectopic QRS waves. The ECG waveform is synthesized according to the computed RR interval and the type of QRS wave and output via DA converter in a real-time base. Various types of ECGs with ventricular ectopic beats and those with very long periods were generated by selecting values for a small number of model parameters. This method requires neither large RAM nor external memory for storing a library of arrhythmic ECGs. The theory, hardware design, software implementation on a personal computer, and experimental reconstruction of clinical ECGs based on the model are discussed.