How to correctly digitize your ECGs

In this article, you will find tips for optimal ECG upload to ensure correct digitization performance and accurate diagnostic results by PMcardio. The PMcardio AI needs correct input to provide correct diagnostic outputs. 

You can find the main tutorial on how to digitize your first ECG with PMcardio here. 

Below, we have included five additional tips to help you upload your ECGs successfully.

Tips for optimal ECG upload

Please read through the following tips:

1. ECG photo quality

PMcardio's digitization module is very robust and can digitize noisy or difficult-to-read ECGs, but you still want to make sure you provide it with ECG photos that are not blurry, of very low quality, too small, or on very crooked paper. The quality of the input picture determines the quality of PMcardio's output. After you upload your ECG to create a PMcardio digitized report, we always recommend checking if the digitized version corresponds to the original ECG and looks correct. 

Do:

Don't:

 

2. Correct ECG format

PMcardio supports exclusively 12-lead ECGs. Holter, telemetry, stress, or any ECGs with fewer than 12 leads are not currently supported.

For single-page ECGs, PMcardio has automatic format detection, so you don't have to worry about selecting the correct format.

If you are uploading a 2-page or 4-page ECG, though, make sure to select the correct format, which means choosing the correct distribution of columns with leads and whether it is a standard or Cabrera type. Also, be careful to upload the leads in the correct order, i.e., first the limb leads and then the chest leads. The PMcardio camera will navigate you.

Do:

Don't:

 

3. Millimeter grid present

PMcardio requires a standard mm grid (i.e., with both small and big squares present) to read and interpret ECGs properly. For instance, if you upload a picture of an ECG from a monitor with a black screen (and no grid is present), the digitization won't work properly.

Do:

Don't:

 

4. Correct paper speed and voltage gain settings

When uploading your ECG picture, also make sure you have selected the correct paper speed and voltage gain settings. Keep in mind that only these are supported:

• Paper speed: 25mm/s or 50mm/s
• Voltage gain: 10mm/mV or 5mm/mV

It’s also important to note that all the leads on your ECG must have the same paper speed and voltage gain settings. PMcardio does not support various settings across the leads.

Do:

Don't:

 

5. Relevant leads present

It is important to ensure you only capture relevant leads in the photo when you upload your ECG to PMcardio. That means:

• All 12 leads need to be uploaded in their entirety. If you capture only some of them or cut off the beginnings or endings of the leads, the digitized report will be distorted, and an incorrect diagnostic result might occur.
• No redundant leads should be present in the photo because this can also distort the digitization of your ECG. Therefore, make sure to eliminate any ECGs in the background or any redundant leads on the side of your ECG. 

Do:

Don't:

To conclude, we always recommend checking if your digitized ECG report looks correct and corresponds to your original ECG, and if not, simply redo the report.

Additional information

Here are a couple of important requirements for the ECG photo upload:

• The supported image format is JPEG or PNG.
• The minimum width and height of the image is 128 pixels.
• All input leads should have at least 2.5 seconds (2500 ms).
• All input leads should have at most 15 seconds (15000 ms).
• All input lead signals should have at most 20000 data points.
• All input leads must have a sampling frequency of at least 250 Hz.

If you experience any issues with the digitization of your ECGs, please refer to this article for further help.