Computationally efficient ECG compression scheme using a non-linear quantizer

A data reduction technique is proposed for the compression of ECG signals. The technique is based on first differencing, but a non-linear quantizer is also used to quantize the first differenced signal. This allows the maintenance of good resolution in selected parts of the EGG, for which the non-linear quantizer has been developed while the entropy of the signal is reduced. The remaining signal is then entropy coded using variable code lengths. The simplicity of this scheme allows it to be implemented on a wide range of systems and requires only limited computational power