Automated prediction of spontaneous initiation and termination of atrial fibrillation from the ECG

A software system capable to automatically predict the initiation of atrial fibrillation (AF) by analyzing the electrocardiogram (ECG) prior to AF´s appearance, and to predict, whether AF will terminate spontaneously has been developed. Prediction of the initiation of AF was done by detecting premature atrial beats and analyzing the variations of their P waves. AF classification according to "terminating" and "none-terminating" was done by eliminating ventricular components of the ECG and by comparing the major frequency of the remaining signal with a certain threshold value. Both algorithms were validated by participating at the Computers in Cardiology Challenges 2001 and 2004.