ECG signals are often contaminated with high-frequency noise such as muscle artifact, power line interference, and others. In the ECG signal processing, especially during a pre-processing stage, numerous noise removal techniques have been used to reduce these high-frequency noise without much distorting the original signal. This paper proposes a new type of digital filter with a continuously variable cutoff frequency to improve the signal quality This filter consists of a cutoff frequency controller (CFC) and variable cutoff frequency lowpass filter (VCF-LPF). From the noisy input ECG signal, CFC produces a cutoff frequency control signal using the signal slew rate. We implemented VCF-LPF based on two new filter design methods called convex combination filter (CCF) and weight interpolation fille. (WIF). These two methods allow us to change the cutoff frequency of a lowpass filter In an arbitrary fine step. VCF-LPF shows an excellent noise reduction capability for the entire time segment of ECG excluding the rising and falling edge of a very sharp QRS complex. We found VCF-LPF very useful and practical for better signal visualization and probably for better ECG interpretation. We expect this new digital filter will find its applications especially in a home health management system where the measured ECG signals are easily contaminated with high-frequency noises .
Digital Textile Printing(DTP) is appropriate for quick response system(QRS) and is closely connected with high value added fashion industry. Fashion products of high price are mainly silk and cotton. For high quality DTP products, it is important to optimize the parameters of media, pre and after-treatment, ink, printer, etc. DTP for these two fiber materials is also accompanied certainly with steaming as after-treatment process for coloration. Role of steam is like water in exhaustion dyeing. Steam can diffuse dye or ink in printing paste to fiber. Quality of DTP products depend on after-treatment processes such as steaming, washing, drying. Current production amount of DTP is smaller than one of conventional textile printing. However conventional after-treatment system has been using so far. This is mismatched with DTP in terms of process efficiency, spot work of small lot, quality control. In this study, continuous after-treatment system has been suitably designed for DTP that washing and drying are available after steaming. So, It is possible to improve efficiency of DTP process. Especially, the effects of after-treatment process, such as temperature of heat drum, steaming time on printability, color difference, color fastness were examined. Two types of samples(cotton knit and silk fabrics) were used. The results were obtained as follows : First, there is no a wide difference between the K/S values of cotton and silk treated with continuous after-treatment system and those of sample treated with conventional printing after-treatment method. So it is more effective to use the continuous after-treatment system than conventional printing after-treatment system in case of the daily throughput of 1,000 yards below. Second, after continuous after-treatment for DTP, K/S values were increased and lightness(
The Holter monitoring system is a widely used noninvasive diagnostic tool for ambulatory patient who may be at risk from latent life-threatening cardiac abnormalities. In this paper, we design a high performance intelligent holter monitoring system which is characterized by the small-sized and the low-power consumption. The system hardware consists of one-chip microcontroller(68HC11E9), ECG preprocessing circuit, and flash memory card. ECG preprocessing circuit is made of ECG preamplifier with gain of 250, 500 and 1000, the bandpass filter with bandwidth of 0.05-100Hz, the auto-balancing circuit and the saturation-calibrating circuit to eliminate baseline wandering, ECG signal sampled at 240 samples/sec is converted to the digital signal. We use a linear recursive filter and preprocessing algorithm to detect the ECG parameters which are QRS complex, and Q-R-T points, ST-level, HR, QT interval. The long-term acquired ECG signals and diagnostic parameters are compressed by the MFan(Modified Fan) and the delta modulation method. To easily interface with the PC based analyzer program which is operated in DOS and Windows, the compressed data, that are compatible to FFS(flash file system) format, are stored at the flash memory card with SBF(symmetric block format).
Purpose: This study was designed to analyze the contributing factors, as well as the incidence and nature of the cardiac toxicity, in patients presenting with diphenhydramine overdose. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the intoxicated patients who presented to the ED of Korea University Anam Hospital from January 2008 to December 2010. Those patients who visited due to a diphenhydramine overdose were selected and the following features were recorded for analysis: the general characteristics, vital signs, the amount of ingested diphenhydramine, the time interval from ingestion to presentation, the coingested drugs (if any), the toxicities and the ECG findings. Cardiac toxicity, while defined mainly in terms of the temporary ECG changes such as QTc prolongation, right axis deviation, QRS widening, high degree AV block and ischemic changes, also encompassed cardiogenic shock, which is a clinical finding. Results: A total of eighteen patients were enrolled. Of the eighteen patients, eight had ingested diphenhydramine only, while ten had ingested other drugs in addition to diphenhydramine. The most commonly observed toxicity following diphenhydramine overdose included cardiac toxicity (78%). Cardiac toxicity was observed in all the patients who presented to the emergency department 2 hours after ingestion. The patients with QTc prolongation turned out to have ingested significantly larger amounts of diphenhydramine. Conclusion: QTc prolongation and right axis deviation were common findings for the patients with a diphenhydramine overdose. QTc prolongation was more likely to occur with ingesting larger amounts of diphenhydramine. Close monitoring is mandatory for patients who have ingested large amounts of diphenhydramine to prevent such potentially lethal cardiac toxicity.
The electrocardiographic (ECG) parameters on unipolar precordial chest leads in the normal Korean native goat of 343 heads as to CV$_{6}$LU, CV$_{6}$LL CV$_{6}$RU, CV$_{6}$RL and V10 have been measured with a 3-channel Elertrocardiograph and computed, analysed. All wave types as positive, negatives biphasic and flatting in the P and T waves appeared in all leads but any special wave type was not shown more than 60%. Average amplitudes with the highest frequent rate in P wave were 81.4
Background: Power spectrum analysis method is a powerful noninvasive tool for quantifying autonomic nervous system activity. In this paper, we developed a data acquistion system for estimating the activity of the autonomic nervous system by the analysis of heart rate and respiratory rate variability using power spectrum analysis. Materials and methods: For the detection of QRS peak and measurement of respiratory rate from patient's ECG, we used low-pass filter and impedence method respectively. This system adopt an isolated power for patient's safety. In this system, two output signals can be obtained: R-R interval heart rate) and respiration rate time series. Experimental ranges are 30-240 BPM for ECG and 15-80 BPM for respiration. Results: The system can acquire two signals accurately both in the experimental test using simulator and in real clinical setting. Conclusion: The system developed in this paper is efficient for the acquisition of heart rate and respiration signals. This system will play a role in research area for improving our understanding of the pathophysiologic involvement of the autonomic nervous system in various disease states.
Purpose: Although cardiac toxicity is a key parameter of significant toxicity, in antidepressant intoxication, there are few studies on the cardiac toxicity of serotonin reuptake inhibitor and the intoxication with the new generation of antidepressants. The aim of this study is to investigate the relative cardiac toxicity of serotonin reuptake inhibitor and intoxication with the new generation of antidepressants as compared with that of tricyclic antidepressant intoxication. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 109 antidepressant intoxicated patients who visited the Emergency Department from January, 2005 to December, 2009 to collect and analyze the demographic and clinical data. Sixteen patients were excluded. The enrolled seventy eight patients were classified into three groups: the tricyclic antidepressant group (TCA) (n=32), the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor subgroup (SSRI) (n=28) and the new generation antidepressant subgroup (NGA) (n=18). Results: The demographic and clinical data of the SSRI and NGA groups were not significantly different from that of the TCA group. The QRS duration of the SSRI subgroup (
Background and Objectives: The prognostic impact of left axis deviation (LAD) on clinical outcomes in acute heart failure syndrome (AHFS) with left bundle branch block (LBBB) is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of axis deviation in acute heart failure patients with LBBB. Methods: Between March 2011 and February 2014, 292 consecutive AHFS patients with LBBB were recruited from 10 tertiary university hospitals. They were divided into groups with no LAD (n=189) or with LAD (n=103) groups according to QRS axis <-30 degree. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Results: The median follow-up duration was 24 months. On multivariate analysis, the rate of all-cause death did not significantly differ between the normal axis and LAD groups (39.7% vs. 46.6%, adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.66, 1.53; p=0.97). However, on the multiple linear regression analysis to evaluate the predictors of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), presence of LAD significantly predicted a worse LVEF (adjusted beta, -3.25; 95% confidence interval, -5.82, -0.67; p=0.01). Right ventricle (RV) dilatation was defined as at least 2 of 3 electrocardiographic criteria (late R in lead aVR, low voltages in limb leads, and R/S ratio <1 in lead V5) and was more frequent in the LAD group than in the normal axis group (p<0.001). Conclusions: Among the AHFS with LBBB patients, LAD did not predict mortality, but it could be used as a significant predictor of worse LVEF and RV dilatation (Trial registry at KorAHF registry, ClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01389843).
The wall shear stress in the vicinity of end-to end anastomoses under steady flow conditions was measured using a flush-mounted hot-film anemometer(FMHFA) probe. The experimental measurements were in good agreement with numerical results except in flow with low Reynolds numbers. The wall shear stress increased proximal to the anastomosis in flow from the Penrose tubing (simulating an artery) to the PTFE: graft. In flow from the PTFE graft to the Penrose tubing, low wall shear stress was observed distal to the anastomosis. Abnormal distributions of wall shear stress in the vicinity of the anastomosis, resulting from the compliance mismatch between the graft and the host artery, might be an important factor of ANFH formation and the graft failure. The present study suggests a correlation between regions of the low wall shear stress and the development of anastomotic neointimal fibrous hyperplasia(ANPH) in end-to-end anastomoses. 30523 T00401030523 ^x Air pressure decay(APD) rate and ultrafiltration rate(UFR) tests were performed on new and saline rinsed dialyzers as well as those roused in patients several times. C-DAK 4000 (Cordis Dow) and CF IS-11 (Baxter Travenol) reused dialyzers obtained from the dialysis clinic were used in the present study. The new dialyzers exhibited a relatively flat APD, whereas saline rinsed and reused dialyzers showed considerable amount of decay. C-DAH dialyzers had a larger APD(11.70
The wall shear stress in the vicinity of end-to end anastomoses under steady flow conditions was measured using a flush-mounted hot-film anemometer(FMHFA) probe. The experimental measurements were in good agreement with numerical results except in flow with low Reynolds numbers. The wall shear stress increased proximal to the anastomosis in flow from the Penrose tubing (simulating an artery) to the PTFE: graft. In flow from the PTFE graft to the Penrose tubing, low wall shear stress was observed distal to the anastomosis. Abnormal distributions of wall shear stress in the vicinity of the anastomosis, resulting from the compliance mismatch between the graft and the host artery, might be an important factor of ANFH formation and the graft failure. The present study suggests a correlation between regions of the low wall shear stress and the development of anastomotic neointimal fibrous hyperplasia(ANPH) in end-to-end anastomoses. 30523 T00401030523 ^x Air pressure decay(APD) rate and ultrafiltration rate(UFR) tests were performed on new and saline rinsed dialyzers as well as those roused in patients several times. C-DAK 4000 (Cordis Dow) and CF IS-11 (Baxter Travenol) reused dialyzers obtained from the dialysis clinic were used in the present study. The new dialyzers exhibited a relatively flat APD, whereas saline rinsed and reused dialyzers showed considerable amount of decay. C-DAH dialyzers had a larger APD(11.70