Evaluating the Impact of Pseudo-Colour and Coordinate System on the Detection of Medication-induced ECG Changes

The electrocardiogram (ECG), a graphical representation of the heart's electrical activity, is used for detecting cardiac pathologies. Certain medications can produce a complication known as 'long QT syndrome', shown on the ECG as an increased gap between two parts of the waveform. Self-monitoring for this could be lifesaving, as the syndrome can result in sudden death, but detecting it on the ECG is difficult. Here we evaluate whether using pseudo-colour to highlight wave length and changing the coordinate system can support lay people in identifying increases in the QT interval. The results show that introducing colour significantly improves accuracy, and that whilst it is easier to detect a difference without colour with Cartesian coordinates, the greatest accuracy is achieved when Polar coordinates are combined with colour. The results show that applying simple visualisation techniques has the potential to improve ECG interpretation accuracy, and support people in monitoring their own ECG.