Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms

Abstract The limited availability of labeled ECG data restricts the application of supervised deep learning methods in ECG detection. Although existing self-supervised learning approaches have been applied to ECG analysis, they are predominantly image-based, which limits their effectiveness. To addr...

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Main Authors: Wenping Chen, Huibin Wang, Lili Zhang, Min Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90084-2
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author Wenping Chen
Huibin Wang
Lili Zhang
Min Zhang
author_facet Wenping Chen
Huibin Wang
Lili Zhang
Min Zhang
author_sort Wenping Chen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The limited availability of labeled ECG data restricts the application of supervised deep learning methods in ECG detection. Although existing self-supervised learning approaches have been applied to ECG analysis, they are predominantly image-based, which limits their effectiveness. To address these limitations and provide novel insights, we propose a Temporal-Spatial Self-Supervised Learning (TSSL) method specifically designed for ECG detection. TSSL leverages the intrinsic temporal and spatial characteristics of ECG signals to enhance feature representation. Temporally, ECG signals retain consistent identity information over time, enabling the model to generate stable representations for the same individual across different time points while isolating representations of different leads to preserve their unique features. Spatially, ECG signals from various leads capture the heart’s activity from different perspectives, revealing both commonalities and distinct patterns. TSSL captures these correlations by maintaining consistency in the relationships between signals and their representations across different leads. Experimental results on the CPSC2018, Chapman, and PTB-XL databases demonstrate that TSSL introduces new capabilities by effectively utilizing temporal and spatial information, achieving superior performance compared to existing methods and approaching the performance of full-label training with only 10% of the labeled data. This highlights TSSL’s ability to provide deeper insights and enhanced feature extraction beyond mere performance improvements. We make our code publicly available on https://github.com/cwp9731/temporal-spatial-self-supervised-learning.
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spelling doaj-art-7ed8a7ab2aab4dd2b30d82d1883c2bd02025-08-20T02:15:00ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-02-0115111910.1038/s41598-025-90084-2Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiogramsWenping Chen0Huibin Wang1Lili Zhang2Min Zhang3College of Information Science and Engineering, Hohai UniversityCollege of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Hohai UniversityCollege of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Hohai UniversityCollege of Information Science and Engineering, Hohai UniversityAbstract The limited availability of labeled ECG data restricts the application of supervised deep learning methods in ECG detection. Although existing self-supervised learning approaches have been applied to ECG analysis, they are predominantly image-based, which limits their effectiveness. To address these limitations and provide novel insights, we propose a Temporal-Spatial Self-Supervised Learning (TSSL) method specifically designed for ECG detection. TSSL leverages the intrinsic temporal and spatial characteristics of ECG signals to enhance feature representation. Temporally, ECG signals retain consistent identity information over time, enabling the model to generate stable representations for the same individual across different time points while isolating representations of different leads to preserve their unique features. Spatially, ECG signals from various leads capture the heart’s activity from different perspectives, revealing both commonalities and distinct patterns. TSSL captures these correlations by maintaining consistency in the relationships between signals and their representations across different leads. Experimental results on the CPSC2018, Chapman, and PTB-XL databases demonstrate that TSSL introduces new capabilities by effectively utilizing temporal and spatial information, achieving superior performance compared to existing methods and approaching the performance of full-label training with only 10% of the labeled data. This highlights TSSL’s ability to provide deeper insights and enhanced feature extraction beyond mere performance improvements. We make our code publicly available on https://github.com/cwp9731/temporal-spatial-self-supervised-learning.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90084-2Deep learningSelf-supervised learningElectrocardiogramRepresentation extraction
spellingShingle Wenping Chen
Huibin Wang
Lili Zhang
Min Zhang
Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
Scientific Reports
Deep learning
Self-supervised learning
Electrocardiogram
Representation extraction
title Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
title_full Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
title_fullStr Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
title_full_unstemmed Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
title_short Temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
title_sort temporal and spatial self supervised learning methods for electrocardiograms
topic Deep learning
Self-supervised learning
Electrocardiogram
Representation extraction
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-90084-2
work_keys_str_mv AT wenpingchen temporalandspatialselfsupervisedlearningmethodsforelectrocardiograms
AT huibinwang temporalandspatialselfsupervisedlearningmethodsforelectrocardiograms
AT lilizhang temporalandspatialselfsupervisedlearningmethodsforelectrocardiograms
AT minzhang temporalandspatialselfsupervisedlearningmethodsforelectrocardiograms