2002 News

The Sleep-EDF Database is a collection of sleep recordings from healthy subjects contributed to PhysioNet by Bob Kemp. These recordings are presented in European Data Format (EDF), a standard for archiving and exchanging polysomnographic recordings. It's easy to read and write EDF files using the format converters available in PhysioNet.

A gentle introduction to much of the software available on this site is offered by Applying PhysioNet tools to manage neurophysiological signals, a tutorial with data and hands-on exercises contributed by Jesus Olivan Palacios.

An arterial blood pressure (ABP) pulse detector for continous ABP signals has been added to version 10.3.1 of the WFDB Software Package, which has just been posted. 

Version 10.3.0 of the WFDB Software Package has just been released, with many new features. Highlights include a port to MacOS/X; a new WFDB library interface permitting random access to digitized signals; a new QRS detector; a new application for signal averaging; up-to-date binaries for GNU/Linux, MS-Windows (including, for the first time, a WFDB DLL), and Solaris; updated manuals; and more.

Version 2.2 of plt adds support for MacOS/X and an updated manual.

A new and improved version of Floyd Harriott's ECG waveform generator has been posted.

An application for exporting PhysioBank records in EDF (European Data Format) is now available; find it here [link updated 25 November 2002]. The complementary application for converting EDF recordings into PhysioNet format has been available as part of the WFDB Software Package for several years.

Version 2.1 of plt, PhysioToolkit's scriptable plotting utility, is now available for GNU/Linux, MS-Windows, and in source form for other platforms.

New XView packages have been posted for Red Hat GNU/Linux 7.x and 8.x. XView provides the GUI elements of WAVE and SEMIA; the new packages incorporate many bug fixes and provide a more stable GUI for WAVE and SEMIA under GNU/Linux.

Final versions of five complete (24-hour) records from the Long-Term ST Database are now available, together with SEMIA, a tool for viewing the detailed trend data, annotations, and ECG signals from these records. More records from this database will be available shortly.

New editions of the WFDB Software Package's manuals have been posted, with many revisions, additions, corrections, and cross-references. All are available in HTML for on-line reference as well as in PDF and PostScript versions for download and printing.

The RR interval time series models that were entered into event 1 of the PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge 2002 are now available for study. Each of the ten models is implemented as a self-contained C program that can generate a synthetic RR interval time series of at least 24 hours' duration.

Using the AHA Database with PhysioNet is easier than ever with the new ahaconvert script (batch file) for importing data from AHA CD-ROMs.

Most PhysioNet software uses the WFDB library to read and write PhysioNet-format files; the library is also available for use in your own programs. Beginning with version 10.2.6, applications that use the WFDB library can choose any convenient sampling frequency, and the library will transparently resample input signals at that frequency.

The Massachusetts General Hospital/Marquette Foundation (MGH/MF) Waveform Database is a collection of 250 recordings of hemodynamic and electrocardiographic waveforms of patients in critical care units. Typical recordings include three ECG signals, ABP, PAP, CVP, respiratory impedance, and airway CO2 waveforms. The first 25 recordings of the MGH/MF Waveform database are now available here. Update: the entire database is now available.

A brief overview of multifractal time series has been posted in the Tutorials section of PhysioNet.

The top scores for the PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge 2002 have now been posted. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to all who participated!

Event 2 of the PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenge 2002 has now begun. You are invited to match wits with participants in event 1, who have created a variety of realistic models of interbeat (RR) interval time series. Can you spot the simulations hidden among the real data in the challenge dataset?

An algorithm for assessing physical activity from a heart rate time series, and a paper describing its development and evaluation, are now available in PhysioToolkit.

The WFDB Software Package is one of the centerpieces of PhysioNet, and is revised frequently. Version 10.2.5 has just been posted, together with an updated set of tutorials and reference manuals. The 10.2 series, which has been tested extensively since mid-October, represents a significant advance over previous versions (see this list of changes and new features); please try it out!

We are pleased to announce the latest in our annual series of PhysioNet/Computers in Cardiology Challenges. The topic for this challenge is RR interval time series modeling. Can you create a model that produces realistic short-term and long-term variations in interbeat intervals? Can you distinguish between synthetic and real RR interval time series? Take the challenge!

Software for locating waveform boundaries in the ECG (i.e., the beginnings, peaks, and ends of P, QRS, and T waves) has been contributed to PhysioNet. The software can be used to analyze either annotated or unannotated recordings (it includes an implementation of the Pan-Tompkins QRS detection algorithm).

A new tutorial, Morphology Representation Using Principal Components, presents practical methods and sample code for deriving noise-tolerant measurements of waveform shape, using the QRS complex of the ECG as an example.

Software for automated detection of obstructive sleep apnea from the ECG has been contributed to PhysioNet. The apdet software package was written as an entry in the Computers in Cardiology Challenge 2000.