Kurukshetra NIT researchers aim to develop cost-effective device to track heart health

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, October 5

Claiming to have developed an early and accurate heart diagnosis system, researchers at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, now aim to develop a cost-effective system on the lines of BP-measuring machine to help people track their heart health.

Dr Monika Mittal, Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering Department, NIT, says in today’s scenario, when the incidences of sudden heart attacks are increasing, the research related to early diagnosis of heart diseases using the most primitive and least costly diagnostic test ECG is of immense potential.

“A computer-aided analysis technology for the early detection of arrhythmias (heart diseases) has been accomplished using accurate and precise identification of various R-peaks (an electrocardiographic parameter with multiple clinical applications), which is considered to be an important attribute for the purpose,” she said, adding that the system analysed ECG signals for detecting minute aberrations in it that are otherwise not detectable by manual inspection.

Any possible occurrence of heart disease at an early stage is usually indicated by these minute irregularities in the heart rhythms known as arrhythmia. If detected early, these can be cured easily preventing any complications in the heart disease. The system will analyse the ECG of a person and provide its verdict about the presence of heart disease directly on the computer screen without any human intervention.

Developers awarded

The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers has awarded SK Mitra Memorial Award jointly to Monika Mittal and Varun Gupta for the research paper entitled ‘R-Peak detection in ECG signal using Yule-Walker and principal component analysis’ published in IETE Journal of Research in 2021.

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