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![[sample ecg recording]](/physiobank/charts/cudb.png)
This database includes 35 eight-minute ECG recordings of human subjects who experienced episodes of sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular flutter, and ventricular fibrillation.
Record cu01 was obtained from a long-term ECG (Holter) recording (played back at real time for digitization); the other records were digitized in real time from high-level (1 V/mV nominal) analog signals from patient monitors. All signals were passed through an active second-order Bessel low-pass filter with a cutoff of 70 Hz, and were digitized at 250 Hz with 12-bit resolution over a 10 V range (10 mV nominal relative to the unamplified signals). Each record contains 127,232 samples (slightly less than 8.5 minutes).
In episodes of cardiac failure, fibrillation is almost always preceded by a run of ventricular tachycardia, which eventually gives way to the fibrillation itself. The onset of fibrillation is extremely difficult to pinpoint in many cases. Any clinically useful detector should respond to the runs of tachycardia preceding fibrillation, since medical intervention is needed at the earliest opportunity. Thus any detector responding to the premonitory tachycardia can exhibit a negative “time to alarm” compared to the onset of fibrillation as recorded in the reference annotation files. For this reason, the database is defined as a tachyarrhythmia database rather than a fibrillation database.
In these records, the minimum number of non-VF beats prior to the onset of a VF episode is 61. The mean time interval from the beginning of the record to the onset of VF is 5:47 (with a standard deviation of 2:01). Five records (cu12, cu15, cu24, cu25, and cu32) were from paced patients (in some cases, pacing artifacts are not visible, and pacing is apparent only from the regularity of the rhythm). Repeated defibrillation attempts are visible in many records.
The recordings were originally collected by Floyd M. Nolle at the Creighton University Cardiac Center. High-quality recordings of these rhythms are extremely rare, and of great importance both for development and evaluation of VF detectors and for basic research on the dynamics of VF. We wish to thank Richard W. Bowser, formerly of the Creighton University Cardiac Center, for preserving these recordings, for making them available for distribution in this format, and for preparing the preceding notes on this database.
The reference annotation files supplied for this database have been included to aid users in locating events of interest. They are in no sense definitive. All beats are labelled normal (although many are ectopic). VF onset annotations mark only the approximate beginnings of VF episodes.
The reference annotation files for records cu01, cu03, and cu12 were updated in January 2006 to include previously missing ventricular fibrillation onset and end annotations (thanks to Janusz Irzyk for reporting these missing). The previous versions of these three files remain available here for comparison (cu01.atr-, cu03.atr-, and cu12.atr-).
Name Last modified Size Description
Parent Directory -
ANNOTATORS 2000-10-13 22:40 44 list of annotators
DOI 2015-09-21 13:00 19
MD5SUMS 2006-01-31 10:31 6.3K
RECORDS 2000-03-29 10:02 175 list of record names
SHA1SUMS 2006-01-31 10:31 7.5K
SHA256SUMS 2007-09-18 12:37 11K
cu01.atr 2006-01-31 10:03 426 reference annotations
cu01.atr- 1992-07-29 23:23 416 previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu01.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu01.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 60 header file
cu01.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 78 header file
cu01.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu02.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 2.0K reference annotations
cu02.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu02.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu02.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu02.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu03.atr 2006-01-31 10:06 1.9K reference annotations
cu03.atr- 1992-07-29 23:38 1.9K previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu03.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu03.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu03.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu03.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu04.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 530 reference annotations
cu04.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu04.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu04.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu04.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu05.atr 2003-02-26 12:26 1.4K reference annotations
cu05.atr- 1992-07-29 23:38 1.4K previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu05.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu05.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu05.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu05.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu06.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 926 reference annotations
cu06.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu06.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu06.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu06.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu07.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 762 reference annotations
cu07.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu07.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu07.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu07.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu08.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 2.5K reference annotations
cu08.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu08.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu08.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu08.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu09.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.8K reference annotations
cu09.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu09.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu09.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu09.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu10.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu10.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu10.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu10.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu10.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu11.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.0K reference annotations
cu11.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu11.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu11.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu11.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu12.atr 2006-01-31 10:12 834 reference annotations
cu12.atr- 1992-07-29 23:38 824 previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu12.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu12.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu12.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu12.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu13.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.7K reference annotations
cu13.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu13.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu13.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu13.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu14.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu14.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu14.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu14.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu14.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu15.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 570 reference annotations
cu15.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu15.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu15.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu15.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu16.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.7K reference annotations
cu16.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu16.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu16.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu16.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu17.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu17.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu17.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu17.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu17.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu18.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.4K reference annotations
cu18.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu18.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu18.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu18.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu19.atr 2003-02-26 12:36 1.4K reference annotations
cu19.atr- 1992-07-29 23:38 1.4K previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu19.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu19.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu19.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu19.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu20.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 418 reference annotations
cu20.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu20.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu20.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu20.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu21.atr 2003-02-24 12:00 1.3K reference annotations
cu21.atr- 1992-07-29 23:38 1.3K previous version of reference annotations (obsolete)
cu21.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu21.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 60 header file
cu21.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 78 header file
cu21.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu22.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 904 reference annotations
cu22.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu22.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu22.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu22.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu23.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 906 reference annotations
cu23.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu23.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu23.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu23.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu24.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.0K reference annotations
cu24.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu24.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu24.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu24.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu25.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu25.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu25.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu25.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu25.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu26.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.6K reference annotations
cu26.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu26.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu26.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu26.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu27.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 2.1K reference annotations
cu27.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu27.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 60 header file
cu27.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 78 header file
cu27.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu28.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 778 reference annotations
cu28.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu28.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 59 header file
cu28.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 77 header file
cu28.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu29.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu29.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu29.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu29.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu29.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu30.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 304 reference annotations
cu30.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu30.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu30.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu30.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu31.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 604 reference annotations
cu31.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu31.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu31.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu31.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu32.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.5K reference annotations
cu32.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu32.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu32.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu32.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu33.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 1.1K reference annotations
cu33.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu33.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu33.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu33.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu34.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 534 reference annotations
cu34.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu34.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 57 header file
cu34.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 75 header file
cu34.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
cu35.atr 1992-07-29 23:38 806 reference annotations
cu35.dat 1992-07-29 23:38 186K digitized signal(s)
cu35.hea 2008-04-05 18:05 58 header file
cu35.hea- 1992-07-29 23:38 76 header file
cu35.xws 1999-12-12 17:00 82 WAVEScript
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