Deep learning-assisted arrhythmia classification using 2-D ECG spectrograms
P. Naga Malleswari, Venkata Krishna Odugu, T. J. V. Subrahmanyeswara Rao, T. V. N. L. Aswini
Abstract
This article studies modern classification techniques in ECG signals through the transfer learning approach with CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). The proposed pre-trained network combines an Imagenet with huge labeled image datasets and a separate network composed of fully connected layers. This method uses the CWT (Continuous Wavelet Transform) to construct a time-frequency visualization of ECG signals, which are subsequently transformed into RGB images. The developed images are plugged into a pre-trained CNN to retrieve the desired features. We next employ supervised learning to train the neural network on the ECG labeled data using CNN features. To train a Deep Neural Network, three sets of PhysioNet databases are used: MIT-BIH (ARR) Arrhythmia, NSR (Normal Sinus Rhythm), and BIDMC CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). The classification Accuracy, Sensitivity, Specificity, F1-score, Precision, and Detection Error Rate of the CNN classifier are compared to AlexNet, GoogleNet, Vgg16, and SqueezeNet pre-trained networks. Among all these networks, SqueezeNet provides an Acc of 98.7%, Se of 99.1%, Sp of 99.20%, F1-score of 98.33%, Precision of 98.67%, and DER of 0.89%. For further investigation, the technique suggested can be implemented in addition to Bi-LSTM on some real ECG data.