Ambulatory wireless Internet electrocardiography: new concepts & maths

A wireless ambulatory ECG system with an Internet based telemedicine service was developed by the authors. Some new solutions of all the three main aids - remote sensing, decision making, and the patients' real time management - of a telemedicine solution were applied. Using more sophisticated math analysis - wavelet for heart rate variability and ventricular late potentials, correlation dimension, data mining with piecewise aggregate approximation (PAA) - the indication of conventional ambulatory (Holter) registrations was expanded. The well-defined indications of Holter monitoring do not permit to extend the applications to a greater population for cardiovascular risk prediction. This "inflexibility" was changed with a rapid, frequent Internet ECG monitoring of our HeartSpy, heart observer systems. The clinical studies were performed in various patients' groups to predict the recurrence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and the occurrence of malignant ventricular arrhythmias and/or sudden cardiac death. The analysis showed some promising results in the prediction of these two diseases, where the conventional methods have only a poor prognostic value