Comparative evaluation of filtration techniques for ECG signal denoising with emphasis on stationary wavelet transform

Abstract

Abstract This paper explores filtration techniques for processing ECG signals, focusing on the evaluation of effective denoising methods. We highlight the effectiveness of Stationary Wavelet Transform as the most suitable approach for denoising ECG signals while preserving critical cardiac features. Stationary Wavelet Transform’s superior performance was validated through rigorous testing, making it a very good choice for ECG signal filtration. We have also investigated other filtration techniques, including high-pass, Chebyshev type II, Kalman, notch, Savitzky-Golay Smoothing, Moving Average, Empirical Mode Decomposition, Empirical Wavelet Transform, and Stationary Wavelet Transform filtering (with tested wavelets ’db4’, ’db5’, ’db6’, ’sym4’, ’sym5’, ’coif3’, ’coif4’, ’coif5’, ’bior3.5’, and ’rbio3.9’), to assess their effectiveness in ECG signal processing. The paper highlights the advantages of the Stationary Wavelet Transform filtration technique in maintaining signal integrity for subsequent analysis. The optimal configuration, determined to be the wavelet type ‘rbio3.9’ at level 5 with a threshold scale of 0.5, balances effective noise reduction with the preservation of crucial ECG signal details, thereby significantly contributing to clinical ECG analysis and advancing diagnostic precision.