Author: Dr. Amy Bell

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Abstract

Here, students learn how implantable cardioverter defibrillators allow people with certain kinds of cardiac arrhythmias to live normal, active lives. In the laboratory, the students use Matlab to investigate algorithms for quickly and accurately detecting the abnormal heart rhythms that require intervention. Along the way, they learn that signals can be processed in both the time and frequency domains, and how the complexity of an algorithm affects how quickly it runs. They also consider the ethics of an actual case in which a maker of defibrillators discovered a flaw in their device, but delayed publicizing the flaw for three years.

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