Algorithm Structure

Fundamental stages of algorithms

The algorithm toolbox is based on the assumption that all RR algorithms can be separated into three fundamental stages:

1. extraction of a respiratory signal (a time series dominated by respiratory modulation),

2. estimation of RR from that respiratory signal, and

3. fusion of multiple RRs to provide one output (optional).

Specifying the structure of algorithms

The structure of the algorithms is specified by the up.al.key_components variable, under the "Algorithms" section in the setup_universal_params.m script. Specification of the first two stages is compulsory, extract_resp_sig and estimate_rr. The third stage, fuse_rr, is optional. For instance, to specify the simplest possible algorithms, without fusion, use:

up.al.key_components = {'extract_resp_sig', 'estimate_rr'};

Alternatively, the additonal fusion stage can be added using:

up.al.key_components = {'extract_resp_sig', 'estimate_rr', 'fuse_rr'};

Further details on the stages of the algorithms are provided in this publication.