An ECG Data Management and Processing System for Teaching and Research

Abstract

AbstractIntroduction:There is a need for integrating Information Technology into the realm of medical care. As noted by Ball [1], Building a new health system for the 21st century & requires that we use Information Technology. The American Institute Of Medicine is the quoted as saying [1,2] that the Internet will likely be the platform of choice for many, if not most health applications. The use of health informatics with patient care is an area that is well explored with healthcare Information Technology systems researched and deployed in a number of countries [3-5]. These systems address the need for the patient care but Information Technology can also form an useful and integral part of research and training for healthcare professionals.Objective:This paper describes the database design of a medical information system for ECG signals for teaching and research.Methods:This system has been created using a modular design to allow extended functionality to be added easily. The extended functionally is added to the system through plug ins. This means that the system can be more versatile where required and that new algorithms and visualisation techniques can be easily added.Results:The database comes pre-loaded with a number of common pathologies as well as 'normals'. A variety of display and processing algorithms are also included. It is envisaged that biomedical students and researchers will use this system both as a trainer as well as a testing ground for new data processing algorithms.The database can be accessed through a web-based front end or with conventional database tools.Conclusions:This paper presents the design of the database together with illustrations of the system in use and some simple plug in tools.References[1] M. J. Ball, "Hospital information systems: perspectives on problems and prospects, 1979 and 2002," International Journal of Medical Informatics, 2003.[2] C. o. Q. H. C. i. America, Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. Washington DC: National Academy Press, 2001.[3] J. G. Anderson, "Evaluation in health informatics: computer simulation," Computers in Biology and Medicine, vol. 32, pp. 151-164, 2002.[4] A. Marsh, "The creation of a 21st century telemedical information society," Future Generation Computer Systems, vol. 14, pp. 3-22, 1998.[5] James D. A., Rowlands D., Mahnovetski R., Channells J., Cutmore T. "Internet based ECG medical information system", Australas. Phys. Eng. Sci. Med., Vol. 26, No 1, pp 110 - 114, March 2003