ECG noise reduction using Fourier coefficient suppression

ECG signals are routinely contaminated by noise due to motion artifacts, power line noise, and electrode contact noises, all of which decreases the accuracy of ECG interpretation. The goal of noise reduction of ECG is to separate the valid cardiac components from the background noises so as to obtain a signal that is qualified for reliable interpretation. This paper proposes an ECG noise reduction technique based on suppression of the Fourier coefficients corresponding to the noise frequency bands. The main idea behind the use Fourier coefficient suppression is its simplicity and ease of implementation. The proposed algorithm was tested on a variety of simulated noises and yielded sufficiently high Signal to Noise Ratio Improvements for the high frequency noises.