Lossless ECG encoding.

We have studied the lossless encoding of ECG signals. With suitable code we aim to reduce the storage space needed by ECG signals. Several methods designed for ECG compression use lossy, i.e. irreversible techniques, in which the original signal is lost, but the restored approximation is almost equal to the original. We aimed, however, to use reversible methods which are able to restore the original signal exactly. We have examined various methods and developed a new approach based on structural recognition and extraction of ECG complexes. Comparative conclusions are drawn from the compression efficiency of lossless and lossy methods. In this study, the effect of sampling frequency, resolution and filtering is also examined.