AbstractUsing an individuals electrocardiogram (ECG) as

a means of identification necessitates advanced digital

processing of ECG waveforms. However, the presence of noise
in an ECG trace complicates the identification analsis. !his
paper e"amines the principal noise sources and identifies their
features. !he primar noise sources in ECG are power line
interference, electromograph (E#G) noise, electrode contact
noise, motion artifacts, and instrumentation noise. $nl once
the noise sources are properl characteri%ed and understood will
filter designs &e efficient at removing noise while preserving as
much of the underling su&'ect information as possi&le. $ther
&enefits of noise characteri%ation include reduced software
comple"it, and increased pro&a&ilit of successful recognition.
Index TermsElectrocardiogram (ECG), (oise, )iometric,
*eature E"traction.
I. INTRODUCTION
lectrocardiogram (ECG) data is traditionally used for
clinical purposes !o"e#er$ ad#ances in computer
tec!nology !a#e created ne" possi%ilities. Recently
researc!ers !a#e applied ad#anced digital signal processing
tec!ni&ues to ECG signal analysis. T!e ne" tec!ni&ues !a#e
ena%led comple' diagnostic interpretation suc! as demi'ing
mot!er(fetal signals$ identifying cardiac arr!yt!mia$ cardiac
infections$ and most recently to c!aracteri)e t!e uni&ueness of
t!e ECG to an indi#idual. ECG data !as an ad#antage of
%eing difficult to disguise ma*ing it #ary appealing for use in
an aut!entication system +,-.
E
ECG %iometric tec!nology is still #ery muc! in t!e
researc! p!ase$ and t!ere are many concerns "!ic! remain to
%e in#estigated. To ac!ie#e accurate real time e'traction of
t!e identifying features from an ECG trace t!e effects of noise
need to %e "ell understood. Noise introduces artifacts "!ic!
ma*e it difficult to e'tract t!e desired identification data. In
t!is paper t!e primary noise sources are analy)ed and t!eir
c!aracteristics identified.
II. E.ECTROC/RDIO.OG0 1EC2/NIC3
/n ECG measures c!anges in electrical potential o#er
time. T!e electrical potentials are caused %y a group of
speciali)ed cells in t!e !eart "!ic! control t!e !eart%eat.
T!ese cells produce electrical impulses "!ic! spread across
t!e !eart causing it to contract. T!e !eart4s main pacema*er$
t!e 3inoatrial node (3/ node)$ initiates t!e !eart %eat %y
generating an electrical impulse "!ic! tra#els to t!e left and
rig!t atria$ causing t!em to contract (atrial depolari)ation).
5ollo"ing t!e start of atrial depolari)ation$ t!e impulse
&uic*ly arri#es at t!e /trio#entricular node (/6 node) "!ic!
is responsi%le for control of #entricle contraction. T!e
electrical signal ne't passes t!roug! t!e 7undle of 2is$
di#erges into t!e Rig!t and .eft 7undle %ranc!es$ and spreads
t!roug! t!e 8ur*in9e 5i%ers to t!e muscles of t!e left and
rig!t #entricle$ causing t!em to contract (#entricular
:
depolari)ation). T!e time re&uired for t!e signal to tra#el
from t!e /6 node to t!e 8ur*in9e 5i%ers pro#ides a natural
delay necessary for t!e atria to fill t!e #entricles "it! %lood.
T!e contraction is follo"ed %y reco#ery (#entricular
repolari)ation) of t!e cells "!ic! "ere e'cited during t!e
pre#ious depolari)ation "a#e +;-.
T!e 3/ node creates t!e electrical impulse "!ic! causes
t!e !eart to %eat$ %ut t!e /utonomic Ner#ous 3ystem (/N3)
controls t!e !eart rate and t!e strengt! of !eart contractions.
T!e /N3 consists of t"o parts$ t!e 3ympat!etic Ner#ous
3ystem and t!e 8arasympat!etic Ner#ous 3ystem. T!e
3ympat!etic ner#es increase t!e !eart rate and t!e contraction
force$ "!ile t!e 8arasympat!etic ner#es act in t!e re#erse
manner +;-.
/n ideali)ed !eart %eat$ s!o"n in 5ig. ,$ illustrates t!e
effects of t!e 3/ and /6 nodes on t!e !eart %eat. T!e la%els
of 5ig. , are commonly used in medical ECG terminology.
T!e t!ree main comple'es of t!e !eart %eat are<
,. 8 comple' = caused %y firing of 3/ node$ and t!e
contraction of t!e atria (atrial depolari)ation)
;. >R3 comple' = caused %y t!e firing of 6/ node$ and
t!e contraction of t!e #entricles (#entricular
depolari)ation)
?. T comple' ( caused %y reco#ery of t!e #entricles after
contraction (#entricular repolari)ation)
@!ile t!ese t!ree main comple'es may %e sufficient for
diagnosis purposes$ more signal features are re&uired to %e
a%le to differentiate indi#iduals from large populations. To %e
useful as a %iometric t!e start and end of t!e 8 and T "a#es
are also recorded +,-. T!e nine distinguis!ing features (.4$ 8$
84$ >$ R$ 3$ 34$ T$ and T4) of a !eart %eat are identified in t!e
ideali)ed ECG signal s!o"n in 5ig. ,.
III. NOI3E IN E.ECTROC/RDIOGR/13
Electrocardiogram traces used for identification are
o%tained using surface electromyograp!y (E1G)$ "!ere
electrodes are placed on t!e s*in in t!e #icinity of t!e !eart.
8otential differences of , to ? m6 generated at t!e %ody
surface %y t!e current sources in t!e !eart are pic*ed up %y
t!e electrodes and are amplified in order to impro#e t!e
signal to noise ratio (3NR). T!e ECG "a#eform is o%ser#ed
on an oscilloscope or
C!aracteri)ation of ECG Noise 3ources
1uris 1u9agic
,
5ig. ,. Ideal ECG signal +,-. T!e 3/ node causes atrial depolari)ation (8
comple'). T!e /6 node causes #entricular depolari)ation (>R3 comple'). T!e
T comple' indicates #entricular repolari)ation.
is digiti)ed for furt!er processing %y a computer (as "ill %e
t!e case for recognition purposes). T!e digiti)ation process
s!ould use a sampling rate of at least , *2) to ensure t!at t!e
ECG trace is of a !ig! enoug! resolution as re&uired for
%iometric purposes +,-.
ECG measurements may %e corrupted %y many sorts of
noise. T!e ones of primary interest are<
,. po"er line interference$
;. electrode contact noise$
?. motion artifacts$
A. E1G noise$ and
B. instrumentation noise +?-.
/n ideali)ed %loc* diagram of eac! of t!ese noise sources is
s!o"n in 5ig. ;. T!e #arious noise signals presented in t!e
figure "ill %e c!aracteri)ed in greater detail in t!is section.
A. Power Line Interference
8lotting a 5ourier po"er spectrum of a typical ECG signal
(5ig. ?) re#eals #arious common ECG fre&uency components.
3e#eral interesting features are readily identifia%le<
T!e ,.; 2) !eart %eat information (appro'imately C;
%eats per minute)
T!e DE 2) po"er line interference
T!e remainder of t!e fre&uency components represents t!e
su%9ect information (situated %et"een E., 2) and AE 2)) and
contri%utions of ot!er noise sources.
8o"er line interference occurs t!roug! t"o mec!anisms<
capcaiti#e and inducti#e coupling. Capaciti#e coupling
referes to t!e transfer of energy %et"een t"o circutis %y means
of a coupling capacitance present %et"een t!e t"o ciricuits.
T!e #alue of t!e coupling capacitance decreases "it!
increasing separtion of t!e circuits. Inducti#e coupling on t!e
ot!er !and is caused %y mutual inducatance %et"een t"o
conductors. @!en current flo"s t!roug! "ires it produces a
magnetic flu'$ "!ic! can induce a current in ad9acent
cirucits. T!e geometry of t!e conductors as "ell as t!e
separtion %et"een t!em determines t!e #alue of t!e mutual
inductance$ and !ence t!e
5ig. ;. 7loc* diagram s!o"ing t!e principal noise sources in electrocardiology.
degree of t!e inducti#e coupling. Typically$ capaciti#e
coupling is responsi%le for !ig! fre&uency noise "!ile
inducti#e coupling introduces lo" fre&uency noise. 5or t!is
reason inducti#e coupling is t!e dominant mec!anism of
po"er line interference in electrocardiology. Ensuring t!e
electrodes are applied properly$ t!at t!ere are no loose "ires$
and t!at all components !a#e ade&uate s!ielding s!ould !elp
limit t!e amount of po"er line intererence.
T!e manifestation of po"er line noise can %e modeled %y
) DE ; sin( ) (
DE
+ = A t n
Hz
. (,)
T!e a#erage pea* #alue$ A$ of t!e noise depends on t!e
amount of coupling %et"een t!e ECG e&uipment and t!e
po"er lines$ and "ill #ary %et"een measurements. During
measurement t!e pea*(to(pea* #alue is also lia%le to fluctuate
due to c!anging en#ironmental conditions$ "!ic! influence
t!e amount of inducti#e or capaciti#e coupling of po"er lines
to t!e ECG e&uipment. T!e p!ase of t!e sinusoid$
represented %y

in e&uation (,)$ is a random #aria%le "it!

a uniform distri%ution in t!e range +(F$ F). T!is simplistic
model assumes t!at t!e noise "ill occur only at DE 2)$ %ut in
reality t!e po"er line noise "ill !a#e a finite %and"idt!
around its nominal center fre&uency$ suggesting t!at t!e total
noise is composed of many sinusoids of similar fre&uency.
5ig. ?. 5ourier po"er spectrum of an ECG trace. T!e DE 2) po"er line
interference and t!e %aseline potential drift noise (at appro'imately E 2)) are
identifia%le.
;
5ig. A. 3e#enty seconds of ECG data. T!e x(a'is is time in seconds$ and y(a'is
is t!e electrical potential in milli#olts. / %aseline potential drift is present in t!e
ECG trace.
B. Electrode Contact Noise and Motion Artifacts
Electrode contact noise is caused %y #ariations in t!e
position of t!e !eart "it! respect to t!e electrodes and
c!anges in t!e propagation medium %et"een t!e !eart and t!e
electrodes. T!is causes sudden c!anges in t!e amplitude of
t!e ECG signal$ as "ell as lo" fre&uency %aseline s!ifts. In
addition$ poor conducti#ity %et"een t!e electrodes and t!e
s*in %ot! reduces t!e amplitude of t!e ECG signal and
increases t!e pro%a%ility of distur%ances (%y reducing 3NR).
T!e underlying mec!anism resulting in t!ese %aseline
distur%ances is electrode(s*in impedance #ariation. T!e
larger t!e electrode(s*in impedance$ t!e smaller t!e relati#e
impedance c!ange needed to cause a ma9or s!ift in t!e
%aseline of t!e ECG signal. If t!e s*in impedance is
e'traordinarily !ig!$ it may %e impossi%le to detect t!e signal
features relia%ly in t!e presence of %ody mo#ement +A-.
3udden c!anges in t!e s*in(electrode impedance induce s!arp
%aseline transients "!ic! decay e'ponentially to t!e %aseline
#alue. T!is transition may occur only once or rapidly se#eral
times in succession. C!aracteristics of t!is noise signal
include t!e amplitude of t!e initial transition and t!e time
constant of t!e decay +?-. T!e contact noise is represented %y
ncontact(t) in 5ig. ;.
1otion artifacts are transient (%ut not step) %aseline
c!anges caused %y electrode motion. T!e usual causes of
motion artifacts are #i%rations$ mo#ement$ or respiration of
t!e su%9ect. T!e pea* amplitude and duration of t!e artifact
are random #aria%les "!ic! depend on t!e #ariety of
un*no"ns suc! as t!e electrode properties$ electrolyte
properties (if one is used %et"een t!e electrode and s*in)$
s*in impedance$ and t!e mo#ement of t!e patient +A-. 5ig. A
s!o"s a CE second segment of a !ig! resolution ECG trace$
"!ere t!e %aseline drift #aries from appro'imately (AEEm6 to
AEEm6. In t!is ECG signal$ t!e %aseline drift occurs at an
unusually lo" fre&uency (appro'imately E.E,A2))$ and most
li*ely results from #ery slo" c!anges in t!e s*in(electrode
impedance. T!is noise can also %e o%ser#ed on t!e 5ourier
po"er spectrum in 5ig. ? t!e large pea* nearest to DC is t!e
result of #ery lo" fre&uency %ase line s!ifts. T!e noise
artifacts introduced %y su%9ect motion are modeled %y nmotion(t)
in 5ig. ;.
5ig. B. T"o second segment of an ECG trace. T!e x(a'is is time in seconds$ and
t!e y(a'is is t!e electrical potential in milli#olts. E'act positions of 8 and T
comple'es are o%scured %e presence of E1G noise.
C. EMG Noise
E1G noise is caused %y t!e contraction of ot!er muscles
%esides t!e !eart. @!en ot!er muscles in t!e #icinity of t!e
electrodes contract$ t!ey generate depolari)ation and
repolari)ation "a#es t!at can also %e pic*ed up %y t!e ECG.
T!e e'tent of t!e crosstal* depends on t!e amount of
muscular contraction (su%9ect mo#ement)$ and t!e &uality of
t!e pro%es.
It is "ell esta%lis!ed t!at t!e amplitude of t!e E1G signal
is stoc!astic (random) in nature and can %e reasona%ly
modeled %y a Gaussian distri%ution function +B-. T!e mean of
t!e noise can %e assumed to %e )ero !o"e#er$ t!e #ariance is
dependent on t!e en#ironmental #aria%les and "ill c!ange
depending on t!e conditions. Certain studies !a#e s!o"n t!at
t!e standard de#iation of t!e noise is typically ,EG of t!e
pea*(to(pea* ECG amplitude +?-. @!ile t!e actual statistical
model is un*no"n$ it s!ould %e noted t!at t!e electrical
acti#ity of muscles during periods of contraction can generate
surface potentials compara%le to t!ose from t!e !eart$ and
could completely dro"n out t!e desired signal. T!e effects of
typical E1G noise can %e o%ser#ed in t!e ECG signal s!o"n
in 5ig. B$ and is particularly pro%lematic in t!e areas of t!e 8
and T comple'es. T!is noise is modeled %y nE1G(t) in 5ig. ;.
D. Instruentation Noise
T!e electrical e&uipment used in ECG measurements also
contri%utes noise. T!e ma9or sources of t!is form of noise are
t!e electrode pro%es$ ca%les$ signal processorHamplifier$ and
t!e /nalog(to(Digital con#erter$ represented respecti#ely %y
npro%e(t)$ nca%les(t)$ namp(t)$ and n/HD(t) in 5ig. ;. 3ince t!is form
of noise is usually defined %y a "!ite Gaussian distri%ution$
5ig. B ade&uately represents its effects on t!e ECG signal.
Unfortunately instrumentation noise cannot %e eliminated as
it is in!erent in electronic components$ %ut it can %e reduced
t!roug! !ig!er &uality e&uipment and careful circuit design.
One type of electrical noise is resistor t!ermal noise (also
*no"n as Io!nson noise). T!is noise is produced %y t!e
random fluctuations of t!e electrons due to t!ermal agitation.
T!e po"er spectrum of t!is noise is gi#en %y
!"# $ n A
;
=
$ (;)
"!ere ! is t!e 7olt)mann4s constant$ " is t!e temperature$
and # is t!e resistance +D-. T!is e&uation suggests t!at t!e
?
resistor t!ermal noise is "!ite for all fre&uencies !o"e#er$ at
fre&uencies larger t!an ,EE T2) t!e po"er spectrum starts to
drop off. 5or our purposes "e can assume t!e resistor
t!ermal noise to %e %and limited "!ite noise. T!is type of
noise is generated in t!e electrodes$ in t!e "ire leads
connecting electrodes to t!e amplifier$ and in all t!e resisti#e
electronic components internal to t!e ECG instrumentation.
3ince t!e magnitude of t!is noise component is su%stantial
relati#e to t!e measured signal$ its effects are most noticea%le
in t!e electrodes and any ot!er electronic e&uipment prior to
t!e amplifier.
/not!er form of noise$ called flic*er noise$ is #ery
important in ECG measurements$ due to t!e lo" fre&uency
content of ECG data. T!e actual mec!anism t!at causes t!is
type of noise is not yet understood$ %ut one "idely accepted
t!eory is t!at it is caused %y t!e energy traps "!ic! occur
%et"een t!e interfaces of t"o materials. It is %elie#ed t!at t!e
c!arge carriers get randomly trappedHreleased and cause
flic*er noise. 5or 1O35ET de#ices$ t!e po"er spectral
density of flic*er noise is gi#en %y$
f %LC
!"
$
ox
f
A ;
H , =
$ (?)
"!ere ! is t!e 7olt)mann4s constant$ " is t!e temperature$ Cox
is t!e silicon o'ide capacitance$ %L is t!e transistor area$ and
f is t!e fre&uency +D-. /s t!e e&uation suggests$ flic*er noise
is in#ersely proportional to fre&uency$ indicating t!at it
%ecomes dominant at lo"er fre&uencies. It can %e found in
any electronic e&uipment "!ic! utili)es %ipolar or metal
o'ide transistors$ suc! as t!e amplifier used for signal
amplification (or more specifically any de#ice "!ic! !as
material 9unctions). 5lic*er noise contri%utions "ould %e
most noticea%le at t!e electrodes since t!e amplitude of t!e
detected signal is on t!e order of milli#olts.
I6. DI3CU33ION
.imiting t!e effect of t!e discussed noise sources is t!e %est
"ay to ensure accurate signal processing$ !o"e#er t!is is not
al"ays possi%le$ so ade&uate filtering tec!ni&ues need to %e
utili)ed. T!e c!aracteri)ation of t!e noise sources s!ould
pro#ides a %asis for proper filter design. 1any studies !a#e
already %een performed to e#aluate t!e effecti#eness of
#arious filtering tec!ni&ues for ECG signals (suc! as
%andpass$ @einer$ Jalman$ adapti#e$ and mo#ing a#erage
filtering$ to name 9ust a fe") +C-$ +K-. T!e c!oice of filter "ill
greatly influence t!e performance of t!e processing
algorit!ms and as suc! it s!ould %e c!osen #ery carefully.
@!en designing t!e filters it is #ery important t!at t!e
design is %ased on t!e c!aracteristics of t!e particular noise.
T!is is crucial to ensure t!at no su%9ect(rele#ant data is
filtered "it! t!e noise. /t times t!is is #ery difficult since t!e
noise and signal fall in t!e same fre&uency range$ suc! as t!e
case of E1G noise. T!e filtering pro%lem is furt!er
complicated if t!e su%9ect !as a !ealt! disorder "!ic! causes
certain features of t!e signal to %e o#er"!elmed %y noise. In
t!is case$ using a filter could remo#e t!e signal feature
entirely$ reducing t!e relia%ility of t!e e'traction soft"are.
6. CONC.U3ION3
T!e noise sources discussed in t!is paper are t!e ones
"!ic! are of greatest concern to accurate real time analysis of
ECG data. 8o"er line interference resulted in a !armonic
noise artifact superimposed on t!e desired signal. It "as
determined t!at t!e amplitude of t!e noise depends on t!e
amount of coupling to t!e po"er lines$ and t!at t!e noise
occurred in a #ery t!in fre&uency %and around t!e po"er line
center fre&uency. Noise caused %y su%9ect motion and
electrode impedance c!anges results in random transients in
t!e %aseline potential. T!e %aseline potential c!anges
occurred at #ery lo" fre&uencies t!at "ere "ell %elo" t!e
!eart %eat fre&uency. 3udden s*in(electrode c!anges can also
result in step transients in t!e %aseline potential "!ic! are
#ery difficult to c!aracteri)e. E1G noise resulted from
crosstal* introduced %y muscle contractions (ot!er t!an t!e
!eart) during ECG measurement. T!is is an additi#e type of
noise modeled %y a )ero mean Gaussian distri%ution.
Instrumentation noise is in!erent in t!e electronic
components used in electrocardiology. It is suspected t!at
flic*er noise$ "!ic! occurs at material interfaces suc! as
t!ose found in t!e 1O35ETs and 7ITs used in t!e ECG
amplifier$ plays a significant role o"ing to t!e lo" fre&uency
nature of ECG signals.
/ %asic understanding of t!e noise c!aracteristics ena%les
filter designs t!at remo#e un"anted noise artifacts. 1ore so$
it ensures t!at t!e filters "ill operate only on t!e noise and
limits t!e amount of su%9ect information loss. / more
t!oroug! statistical analysis s!ould %e performed to %etter
c!aracteri)e t!e effect of E1G and instrumentation noise on
t!e ECG signal. / particular point of interest "ould %e
flic*er noise contri%utions arising from t!e material 9unctions
present in t!e measurement electrodes.
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A