QRS complexes detection for ECG signal: The Difference Operation Method

This paper proposes a simple and reliable method termed the Difference Operation Method (DOM) to detect the QRS complex of an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. The proposed DOM includes two stages. The first stage is to find the point R by applying the difference equation operation to an ECG signal. The second stage looks for the points Q and S based on the point R to find the QRS complex. From the QRS complex, the T wave and P wave can be obtained by the existing methods. Some records (QRS complex and T and P waves) of ECG signals in MIT-BIH arrhythmia database is tested to show the DOM has a much more precise detection rate and faster speed than other methods. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.