The role of independent component analysis in the signal processing of ECG recordings.

Independent component analysis (ICA) is an emerging technique for multidimensional signal processing. In recent years, these techniques have been proposed for solving a large number of biomedical applications. This work reviews current knowledge on ICA in electrocardiographic (ECG) analysis. The benefits that ICA can bring to clinical practice are illustrated with four relevant clinical applications: foetal ECG extraction from maternal ECG recordings, analysis of atrial fibrillation, ECG denoising and removal of pacemaker artefacts.