PhysioNet/CinC Challenge 2013: Test Sets

Data for the 2013 challenge consist of a collection of one-minute fetal ECG recordings. Each recording includes four noninvasive abdominal signals as illustrated below (Figure 1). The data were obtained from multiple sources using a variety of instrumentation with differing frequency response, resolution, and configuration, although in all cases they are presented as 1000 samples per signal per second.

In each case, reference annotations marking the locations of each fetal QRS complex were produced, usually with reference to a direct FECG signal, acquired from a fetal scalp electrode. The direct signals are not included in the challenge data sets, however.

As in recent challenges, the data have been divided into three sets:

• Learning (training) set A: includes noninvasive fetal ECG signals, as well as the reference annotations for them (for participants' use only; not used to score or rank challenge entries)
• Open test set B: noninvasive signals only (reference annotations withheld; for evaluation of challenge entries in events 4, 5, and 6)
• Hidden test set C: unpublished records (reserved for evaluation of open-source challenge entries in events 1, 2, and 3)

Note that the training data set (set A) does not include examples of all of the sources included in the test sets. It will be necessary to design methods for addressing the challenge that are sufficiently flexible to work with data that have recording characteristics that are similar, but not identical, to those in the training set. This feature of the challenge data is intended to encourage participants to develop approaches that are compatible with the variety of devices and signals encountered in clinical practice, and to allow us to assess how successfully participants have been able to accomplish this goal.

Explore training set A and test set B using LightWAVE, our new waveform and annotation viewer. Sets A and B are also available for downloading via links in the directory listing below.

• set-a.tar.gz (initial set of 25 set A records), set-a-ext.tar.gz (supplementary set of 50 more set A records), and set-b.tar.gz (test set B, 100 records): tarballs containing records in PhysioBank-compatible format, for use with open-source WFDB software from PhysioNet
• set-a-text.tar.gz (initial set of 25 set A records), set-a-ext-text.tar.gz (supplementary set of 50 more set A records), and set-b-text.tar.gz (test set B, 100 records): tarballs containing records in text CSV format

These files are also available as zip archives (set-a.zip, set-a-text.zip, set-a-ext.zip, set-a-ext-text.zip, set-b.zip, and set-b-text.zip). The PhysioBank-compatible files are available individually within the set-a and set-b directories. All five versions contain the same data.

Reference QT interval measurements are in preparation; those for records in set A will be made available to participants when they are complete.

The challenge is to produce a set of annotations and a QT interval measurement that matches the hidden references as nearly as possible, for each record in set B or C.

 Name                            Last modified      Size  Description
 Parent Directory                                     -   
 set-b/                          2013-04-02 18:09    -   
 set-b.zip                       2013-04-02 17:45   25M  
 set-b.tar.gz                    2013-04-02 17:42   25M  
 set-b-text.zip                  2013-04-02 17:52   44M  
 set-b-text.tar.gz               2013-04-02 17:47   44M  
 set-a/                          2013-04-02 18:09    -   
 set-a.zip                       2013-02-20 19:09  7.9M  
 set-a.tar.gz                    2013-02-20 19:06  7.9M  
 set-a-text.zip                  2013-02-20 19:08   13M  
 set-a-text.tar.gz               2013-02-20 19:07   13M  
 set-a-ext.zip                   2013-04-02 17:45   12M  
 set-a-ext.tar.gz                2013-04-02 17:42   12M  
 set-a-ext-text.zip              2013-04-02 17:52   21M  
 set-a-ext-text.tar.gz           2013-04-02 17:46   21M  
 DOI                             2015-09-21 13:00   20