European data format

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The European Data Format ( EDF ) is a data format that allows the exchange and storage of biological signals and other data from biological time series . As an open and non-proprietary format, EDF, together with its further development EDF +, allows data that was collected with commercial devices to be archived, exchanged and analyzed in a neutral format. Data that can be encoded with EDF and EDF + are, for example, signals obtained through electroencephalography , an electrocardiogram, and similar technologies. EDF is now the standard format for recording polysomnographs .

EDF (original version)

EDF was first published in 1992. With the help of the format, multi-channel information can be saved, whereby each channel can have its own sampling rate . Each EDF file consists of a header and one or more data records . The header contains general information ( metadata such as patient identification and start time of the recording) as well as technical specifications of the recording such as calibration data , sampling rate, filter settings, etc. in ASCII form. The data records contain the recordings in a binary format consisting of little-endian -coded integers in 16-bit resolution.

EDF + (further development)

The successor format EDF + was published in 2003. It is largely compatible with EDF, so software that can display EDF files can also display EDF + signals (upward and downward compatibility). In contrast to EDF, with EDF + you can also save discontinuous signals, comments, stimuli and events, the latter in UTF-8 coding. EDF + is a standard format in medical technology , e.g. B. for polysomnography, EKG and EMG .

See also

literature

  • Kemp B, Värri A, Rosa AC, Nielsen KD, Gade J: A simple format for exchange of digitized polygraphic recordings . In: Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol . 82, No. 5, May 1992, pp. 391-3. doi : 10.1016 / 0013-4694 (92) 90009-7 . PMID 1374708 . - EDF reference.
  • Kemp B, Olivan J: European data format 'plus' (EDF +), an EDF alike standard format for the exchange of physiological data . In: Clin Neurophysiol . 114, No. 9, September 2003, pp. 1755-61. PMID 12948806 .

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