MEAs-Filter: a novel filter framework utilizing evolutionary algorithms for cardiovascular diseases diagnosis

Cardiovascular disease management often involves adjusting medication dosage based on changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) signals' waveform and rhythm. However, the diagnostic utility of ECG signals is often hindered by various types of noise interference. In this work, we propose a novel filter based on a multi-engine evolution framework named MEAs-Filter to address this issue. Our approach eliminates the need for predefined dimensions and allows adaptation to diverse ECG morphologies. By leveraging state-of-the-art optimization algorithms as evolution engine and incorporating prior information inputs from classical filters, MEAs-Filter achieves superior performance while minimizing order. We evaluate the effectiveness of MEAs-Filter on a real ECG database and compare it against commonly used filters such as the Butterworth, Chebyshev filters, and evolution algorithm-based (EA-based) filters. The experimental results indicate that MEAs-Filter outperforms other filters by achieving a reduction of approximately 30% to 60% in terms of the loss function compared to the other algorithms. In denoising experiments conducted on ECG waveforms across various scenarios, MEAs-Filter demonstrates an improvement of approximately 20% in signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio and a 9% improvement in correlation. Moreover, it does not exhibit higher losses of the R-wave compared to other filters. These findings highlight the potential of MEAs-Filter as a valuable tool for high-fidelity extraction of ECG signals, enabling accurate diagnosis in the field of cardiovascular diseases.