RESUMEN
Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) disease is a serious complication of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Cardiorespiratory symptoms such as apnea, oxygen desaturation and bradycardia may be related to GER. Thus, the recommended diagnostic methodology in pediatric patients requires 24-h synchronized esophageal and cardiorespiratory monitoring. However, there is no computer tool available for this purpose and therefore, researchers and physicians are forced to seek for customized solutions. This paper presents an open source computer program for the analysis of symptom association. It allows a convenient visualization of the biological signals and implements the three main metrics for symptom association, that is, the symptom index, the symptom sensitivity index and the symptom association probability. This software represents a flexible solution and will facilitate caregivers an easy assessment of the existence of temporal association between GER and cardiorespiratory episodes. This would ideally reduce inappropriate medical and surgical treatments and would provide an early diagnosis of the medical condition.
Asunto(s)
Diagnóstico por Computador/estadística & datos numéricos , Reflujo Gastroesofágico/diagnóstico , Programas Informáticos , Apnea/etiología , Bradicardia/etiología , Impedancia Eléctrica , Monitorización del pH Esofágico , Reflujo Gastroesofágico/complicaciones , Humanos , Hipoxia/sangre , Hipoxia/etiología , Recién Nacido , Monitoreo Fisiológico , Oxígeno/sangreRESUMEN
This letter describes a fast and very simple algorithm for estimating the fetal electrocardiogram (FECG). It is based on independent component analysis, but we substitute its computationally demanding calculations for a much simpler procedure. The resulting method consists of two steps: 1) a dimensionality reduction step and 2) a computationally light postprocessing stage used to enhance the FECG signal.