The art of selecting the ECG input in neural networks to classify heart diseases: a dual focus on maximizing information and reducing redundancy.

Background and Objectives: Accurate diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases often relies on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Since the cardiac vector is located within a three-dimensional space and the standard ECG comprises 12 projections or leads derived from it, redundant information is inherently present. This study aims to quantify this redundancy and its impact on classification tasks using Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) in cardiovascular diseases. Methods: We employed signal theory and mutual information to introduce a novel redundancy metric and explored techniques for redundancy augmentation and reduction. This involved lead selection and transformation to evaluate the effects on neural network performance. Results: Our findings indicate that optimizing input configurations through redundancy reduction techniques can enhance the performance of deep learning models in cardiovascular diagnostics, provided that the information is preserved and minimally distorted. Conclusion: For the first time, this research has quantified the redundancy present in the input by validating various redundancy reduction techniques using a CNN. This discovery paves the way for advancing biomedical signal processing research, simplifying model complexity, and enhancing diagnostic performance in cardiovascular medicine within reduced lead systems, such as Holter monitors or wearables.