ECG Signal Classification Using Deep Learning Techniques Based on the PTB-XL Dataset

Abstract

The analysis and processing of ECG signals are a key approach in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. The main field of work in this area is classification, which is increasingly supported by machine learning-based algorithms. In this work, a deep neural network was developed for the automatic classification of primary ECG signals. The research was carried out on the data contained in a PTB-XL database. Three neural network architectures were proposed: the first based on the convolutional network, the second on SincNet, and the third on the convolutional network, but with additional entropy-based features. The dataset was divided into training, validation, and test sets in proportions of 70%, 15%, and 15%, respectively. The studies were conducted for 2, 5, and 20 classes of disease entities. The convolutional network with entropy features obtained the best classification result. The convolutional network without entropy-based features obtained a slightly less successful result, but had the highest computational efficiency, due to the significantly lower number of neurons.