Pedmeans: A computer program for the interpretation of pediatric electrocardiograms

The interpretation pediatric electrocardiograms (ECGs) is complicated because of the strong age-dependency of the diagnostic criteria. We wanted to develop and evaluate a computer program for the interpretation of pediatric 12-lead ECGs. Continuous age-dependent normal limits were established based on ECGs from 1,912 healthy Dutch children. Additionally, a reference interpretation was obtained for 1,718 ECGs recorded at the Sophia Children's Hospital. The total set of ECGs was divided in a training set of 1076 ECGs and a test set of 642 ECGs. All ECGs were recorded at a sampling rate of 1,200 Hz. Based on the normal limits and the training set, diagnostic rules were formalized in an iterative process by using expert interviews and automatic rule induction. The resultant rules were evaluated on the test set. The performance of the program, on our study population, appears to justify its use in a clinical setting. Preferably, the program should also be evaluated in other clinical centers.