A method to reduce the effect of electrode position variations on automated ECG interpretation

To reduce the effect of electrode position variations on the diagnostic interpretation of an ECG, ECG and VCG interpretations were combined. The reduction was assessed by generating ECGs with displaced electrodes for a group of subjects using Body Surface Potential Maps (BSPMs). VCGs were reconstructed from the ECGs. The group consisted of normals, cases with myocardial infarction (MI), and with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). The effects of four types of electrode position changes were assessed for the diagnostic categories MI and LVH. The combined interpretation proved to be less sensitive to large changes than either the ECG or the VCG interpretation alone. The number of small changes increased for the combined interpretation. The combined interpretation showed higher agreement with a human expert than the ECG interpretation alone.