Automated Diagnosis-Assisting Medical Devices Utilizing Rate/Frequency Estimation

A method for processing a quasi-periodic signal, the method comprising:

• receiving, using a controller, a representation of a quasi-periodic signal;
• removing, using the controller, a DC component from the received signal to produce a purely time-varying signal;
• filtering, using the controller, the time-varying signal to produce a pre-processed signal;
• auto-correlating, using the controller, at least a portion of a representation of the pre-processed signal with itself and storing in a memory device a corresponding auto-correlation output for the at least portion of the representation of the pre-processed signal;
• applying, using the controller, a biphasic tapering function to the auto-correlation output, the tapering function including a time constant parameter that is a function of the quasi-periodic signal and producing a first maximum;
• and
• storing in the memory device a representation, based on the first maximum, as an indication of a rate or a frequency of the quasi-periodic signal.