Use the Filemenu to open or close a file. After the file has been opened,
the signaldialog will appear.
Use the Filemenu to open a stream. The stream must be a "growing" file.
This mode is used when you have an aquisitionprogram running that writes EDF or BDF.
While the aquisitionprogram writes the data to the file, you can use EDFbrowser to watch
(follow) the actual data. EDFbrowser will regularly check the actual filesize and show the
last part of the file i.e. the most actual/recent data.
The default intervaltime between the updates is 500 milliSeconds and can be changed in the settingsmenu.
(Linux version only)
Use the Filemenu to start (or stop) a video. After the video has been started, you can use the slider
on the bottom to change the file position or use page-up/page-down.
In order for EDFbrowser to be able to start a video, the VLC mediaplayer needs to be installed on your system.
Also, the startdate and starttime needs to be set in the filename of the video (for synchronization).
The following text is copied from http://www.edfplus.info/specs/video.html :
Video filenames of the same patient must start with the same patient identification,
followed by the start-date and -time of the video, as follows:
NL_012348168_03-MAY-2013_14h45m49.013s_Video.ogv
in which case the video apparently starts on May 3, 2013 at 0.013 seconds after 14:45:49hr. To be more precise,
the patient identification is followed by an underscore (_), followed by the video startdate DD-MMM-YYYY,
followed by an underscore, followed by the starttime HHhMMmSS.XXXXs. The startdate days, DD, are 01, 02, 03, ... 30 or 31.
The months, MMM, are JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV or DEC.
The years, YYYY, obviously are 2013, 2014 and so on. The starttime is based on the 24h clock with HH ranging from 00 till 23,
so midnight is coded as 00h00m00s. The decimal fraction of a second (noted here by .XXXX) can have any lenght and can also be omitted
(for example in 06h37m12s). The addition _Video is not obligatory and neither do we standardize any video format such as ogv.
So, a perfectly OK video filename would also be:
NL_012348168_03-MAY-2013_14h45m49.013s.mpeg
Use the Signalsmenu to add or remove signals. If you want to remove only one particular signal,
leftclick on the signallabel of the signal you want to remove. A small dialog will appear and gives
you the possibility to remove that particular signal from the screen. See also signaldialog.
Use the Timescalemenu to choose the pagetime (the amount of seconds that must be shown on the screen).
Be aware that a pagetime of more than five minutes slowsdown the program. Specially when there are
many signals on the screen and/or high samplefrequencies.
"3cm/Sec" will adjust the pagetime so that one second equals 3 cm horizontally. In case you get a different
result, calibrate your screen in Menu -> Settings -> Calibration.
Use the Amplitudemenu to adjust the amplitude (size/gain/sensitivity) of all signals on the screen.
If you want to adjust the amplitude of one particular signal, use Signalproperties.
"Fit to pane" will adjust the height and size of all signals so that they will fit on the screen.
"Adjust offset" will adjust the height only (of all signals so that they will fit on the screen).
"Offset -> 0" will set the offset on the screen of all signals to zero.
Use the "+" or "-" keys on your keyboard to increase or decrease the amplitude of all signals.
The signallabel is the name of the signal which is printed on the screen at the start of the trace.
This little piece of text has some "hidden" functions. When you leftclick on it, the Signalproperties
dialog will be opened. You can also drag this label with the left or right mousebutton to change
the offset or amplitude of the signal, see also Adjusting the position and size of the signals.
The alias, if used, is an alternative signallabel which is printed on the screen at the start of the trace.
Aliasses can be created in the Signalproperties dialog and will be stored in your montage.
Use the signaldialog to add one or more signals to the screen. Go to Signals -> Add.
On top you will see a list of opened files.
Select (highlight) the file from which you want to add signals. At the left part of the dialog you see a list of
all the signals which are in the selected file. Select one or more signals and click on the "Add signal(s)"
button. Now you will see the selected signals on the screen. You can add more signals afterwards,
just go to Signals -> Add.
When you want to make a combination (derivation) of two or more signals, do as follows. Open the signalsdialog.
Select the file from which you want to add signals. In this example we choose an EEG file which contains
the signals "P3" and "C3" and we want to subtract "C3" from "P3".
- Select (highlight) the signal "P3".
- Click on the "Add" button.
- Select (highlight) the signal "C3".
- Click on the "Subtract" button.
- Click on the "Make derivation" button.
- The result of "P3" minus "C3" will appear on the screen.
Now you can add more combinations or simply close the dialog.
note: It is only possible to make combinations with signals who:
- are in the same file
- have the same samplerate
- have the same physical dimension (e.g. uV)
- have the same sensitivity (e.g. uV/bit)
note 2: If you want to invert the signals (which is common in EEG) do as follows:
instead of P3 - C3, use -P3 + C3 (or C3 - P3).
You can also invert a signal afterwards, go to Signals -> Organize.
You can view or adjust the properties of a specific signal by leftclicking on the signallabel.
A small dialog will be opened and let you change the amplitude and color.
You can also remove filters (if any) or remove the signal from the screen.
You can also enter an alias for the signalname.
Another option is to activate one or more crosshairs for precise measurements.
Another way to view/change the properties of a signal is to go to Signals -> Properties.
This will show you a list of all signals which are on the screen. Simply click on the
signal of interest.
Leftclick on the signallabel and move the mousepointer up or down while keeping the
left mousebutton pressed. This will move the signal up or down on the screen i.e. it
changes the offset of the signal.
Rightclick on the signallabel and move the mousepointer up or down while keeping the
right mousebutton pressed. This will increase or decrease the amplitude (size/gain) of
the signal on the screen.
You can organize the signals via Signals -> Organize.
Here you can change the order of the signals on the screen, remove or invert signals.
Navigation throug a file can be done by using the PageUp/PageDown buttons on your keyboard.
Use the Arrowkeys to shift the screen one tenth of the pagetime. The mousewheel can be used to
scroll horizontally. The stepsize of the mousewheel can be set in the settings menu.
A value of zero disables mousewheel scrolling.
You can also zoom-in.
When a file contains annotations, the annotationwindow will appear.
Just click on one of the annotations to jump to that position in the file.
This window is dockable. You can change the size of the window, but also the position.
You can make the window floating as well by dragging it with the mouse. After closing
the annotationwindow, you can make it appear again via Window -> Annotations.
By right-clicking on an annotation in the annotationwindow, you can hide or unhide one or more
annotations from the screen.
Use the filtermenu to add or remove filters. First select the type of filter: highpass, lowpass, notch, bandpass or bandstop.
Now select the model: Butterworth, Chebyshev, Bessel or "moving average" (a notchfilter has resonator model only).
Then set the frequency(s) of the filter (or number of samples in case of a "moving average" filter).
Depending on the type and model of the filter, you can adjust the order, Q-factor and passbandripple.
The curve will show the frequency and phase response of the filter (except for "moving average" filters).
Now select one or more signals to apply to and click the "Apply" button.
Reviewing the filters can be done in the Montage -> View this montage menu.
Algorithm for the moving average filters:
LPF: the mean of the last n data samples.
HPF: last-n/2 sample minus the mean of the last n data samples.
You can adjust or finetune the filters. Left-click on a signallabel and select "Adjust filter".
You can adjust or finetune the frequency, order or Q-factor of a filter and watch the result at the same time.
To view the powerspectrum of a signal, leftclick on the signallabel and choose "Spectrum".
The Power Spectral Density of the corresponding signal will be shown (uV)2/FFT-resolution.
The amount of datasamples used to perform the FFT equals the data which is
shown on the screen. Increasing or decreasing the FFT blocksize affects the FFT resolution.
The FFT blocksize can be set in Settings menu.
So, if the samplefrequency of the selected signal is 256Hz, the timescale is set to 10 seconds and
the FFT-blocksize is 512, the number of FFT's performed is (10 seconds x 256 Hz) / 512 = 5.
The output of the five FFT's are averaged.
In case you set the FFT blocksize equal to timescale x samplefrequency, exactly one FFT will be performed.
This powerspectrum is static and will not update when you change the fileposition (pressing PgUp/PgDn etc.).
This way you can compare multiple powerspectra from different signals and/or filepositions.
There is also a powerspectrum window available that automatically updates when you walk through a file.
Go to Window -> Power Spectrum.
A small dialog will be opened which shows a list of signals which are on the screen.
Click on a signal of interest and a docked Powerspectrum (FFT) will be opened.
This Powerspectrum will be automatically updated when you navigate through the file. Clicking on the
"ctls" button toggles the controls. Here you can switch-on colorbars to highlight different frequency-
regions. The properties of the colorbars (number of colorbars, frequency, color, etc.) can be adjusted
in the Settings menu. The height of the colorbar is relative to the sum, peak or average of the the
power of all the frequency-bins in that region, according to the settings in the Settings menu.
Use the sliders to zoom into a particular area.
When you check the "Amplitude" checkbox, the amplitude spectrum will be shown.
Printing can be done by clicking on the printbutton. You can print to a printer, file (PDF or Postscript)
or as an image. It is also possible to "print" to a textfile. It exports the data to text (ASCII).
Clicking on the cursorbutton will display a cursor. Use the mouse to drag the cursor.
Averaging waveforms (multiple parts of a signal) can be done by rightclicking on an annotation (trigger) in
the annotationlist. A contextmenu will be opened, now click on "Average".
The timescale (datablocksize) of the averaging window will be equal to the timescale of the mainwindow.
So, if you want to average 20 seconds, set the timescale to 20 first.
A dialog will be opened where you can choose to which signal you want to apply the averaging.
If necessary, change the "From"- and "To"-times in order to select a particular group of triggers.
Only the triggers with an onsettime that lies between the two timevalues will be used for the averaging.
Select the ratio of the time before and after the triggerpoint. For example, if the timescale of the mainwindow
is set to 20 seconds and you select a 10/90 ratio, averaging will start 2 seconds before the triggerpoint and
stops at 18 seconds after the triggerpoint.
Now click on "Start" and a new window will be opened which will show the result of averaging
all signalparts of all annotations (triggerpoints) with that specific name.
The yellow colored, dashed, vertical line is the triggerpoint, i.e. the onsettime of the annotations (triggers).
Use the sliders to zoom into the signal. The timescale is relative to the trigger (onset) point.
The result can be printed or exported as a new EDF/BDF file.
You can also use external triggers in ASCII(*.csv or *.txt) or XML format.
See Import annotations/events how to import triggers/events/annotations.
Note: It is also possible to change the selection of annotations/triggers for averaging, by editing the annotationlist first.
Toggling the "Heart Rate" button toggles on or off the detection and calculation of the heartrate
expressed in beats per minute (bpm).
The "Heart Rate" button can be found in the Signalproperties dialog.
The algorithm used for the heartrate detection is derived from "Real time electrocardiogram QRS detection using combined adaptive threshold"
by Ivaylo I Christov. http://www.biomedical-engineering-online.com/content/3/1/28
The R-onset times and/or RR-interval times (beat to beat) can be exported to an ascii-file for analysis in other programs (e.g. Kubios).
After you switched on the Heart Rate detection, go to "Tools -> Import/Export ECG RR-interval".
Only the part of the signal that is visible on the screen will be exported, except when you check the "Whole recording" checkbox.
There is also the possibility to import the RR-intervals as annotations.
Some statistics about the Heart Rate (variability) are available here.
Important: before using the Heart Rate detection, go to the settings menu (Settings -> Other) and adjust the "Powerline Frequency" to the frequency used in the country
where the recording of the ECG took place (50 or 60 Hz). Otherwise the powerline noise suppression filter in the Heart Rate detection algorithm will not work correctly.
When the ECG heart rate detection is enabled, you can view some statistics about the
Heart Rate (variability) in the Signalproperties. Once you see the Signalproperties dialog,
click on the "Statistics" button. A brief description of the statistics:
- Mean, the average of the RR-intervals.
- SDNN, the standard deviation of RR-intervals.
- RMSSD, the square root of the mean squared difference of successive RR's.
- NN50, the number of pairs of successive RR's that differ by more than 50 ms.
- pNN50, the proportion of NN50 divided by total number of RR's as a percentage.
The data used for the statistics is derived from the timewindow that is visible on the screen.
There are multiple ways to zoom-in:
- By pressing (several times) Ctrl++ or Ctrl+-.
or
- By using the mousewheel while keeping the Ctrl-button pressed.
or
- You can zoom into a signal/curve on the screen by drawing a rectangle with the mouse.
Keep the left mousebutton pressed and move the mousepointer in the direction of the
right lower corner. When you release the left mousebutton, the content of the rectangle
will be expanded to the whole screen. You can repeat this step and zoom in again.
Use the backspace button on your keyboard to zoom out and restore the previous settings.
After using the backspace button, you can zoom in again by pressing the insert button on
your keyboard.
You can use a floating ruler for measurements. Leftclick on the signallabel of the signal
of interest. A small dialog will appear. Click on Ruler. A floating ruler will appear.
Drag and drop the ruler with the left mousebutton. Rightclick to remove the ruler or press the "Esc" key.
Note: the ruler will appear only when the Timescale (pagetime) is set between 2 and 60 seconds
AND when the amplitude (size/gain) is set between 1 and 2000.
You can use one or two crosshairs for precise measurements. Leftclick on the signallabel
of the signal of interest. A small dialog will appear. Click on Crosshair. A crosshair will
appear. Drag and drop the crosshair with the left mousebutton. Now you can add another crosshair.
The second crosshair will show you the differences (delta) in time and value of the signal(s).
Rightclick to remove the crosshair(s) or press the "Esc" key.
Some statistical info about a signal can be found in the Signalproperties.
and clicking on the "Statistics" button.
It will show the number of samples showed on the screen, the sum, mean, RMS (root mean square), and MRS
(mean root square i.e average of rectified values) value of the samples showed on the screen.
In addition, the number of zero-crossings (i.e. switching from positive to negative or vice versa)
and the frequency of that part of the signal will be shown.
Montages can be used to store information about which signals should be shown on
the screen, what combinations (derivations) should be made and other properties
like filters, amplitude (sensitivity), offset, alias, color and pagetime (timescale).
Once you have loaded a file for review and you have added all the signals you want
(and/or all the combinations/derivations) and you have adjusted amplitude and colors
and/or filters, you can save them as a montage.
Go to Montage -> Save. A dialog will be opened where you can choose a directory
and filename to store your montage.
Next time when you load a file, you can load a montage via Montage -> Load.
You can view the properties of a montage via Montage -> View saved montages or
Montage -> View this montage.
note:
It is important that the names (labels) of the signals are correct when you use a montage
to review different files.
You can bind the F1 to F12 keys to twelve different montages. This way you can quickly switch
between different montages by pressing key F1, F2, etc.
Go to Montage -> Edit key-bindings for montages.
It is possible to create keyboard shortcuts (bindings) for predefined montages.
Go to Montage -> Edit key-bindings for montages. Click on the first row (F1);
Now you can select a montage. You can assign twelve different
montages to keys F1 - F12.
Now you can quickly switch between predefined montages by pressing one of these keys.
Go to the Settings menu to change the colors like you prefer.
In the Settings menu go to the Calibration tab to calibrate your screen.
This will achieve that the amplitude expressed in units/cm will have
the correct height/value.
When you open multiple files, you can choose to "timelock" all files with
each other. This means that when you navigate (by pressing PgUp/Pgdwn)
this will affect all signals on the screen. When you choose to "unlock" the files,
only the signals of the "reference" file will be moved on the screen. You can
change which file should be the reference in the Time-menu.
There are three kinds of timelock:
- Offset
The start of the recording of all files will coincide with each other.
- Absolute time
The clock/date-time of the different files will coincide with each other.
(this is only useful when the period of registration overlap eachother)
- Userdefined synchronizing
When this setting is selected, only the signals from the file that has the
"time reference" will move when you navigate.
Use this option when you want to align two or more files manually.
The time shown in the leftbottom corner represents the time from the
file that acts as the "reference". You can change which file should be
the reference in the Timenu.
You can adjust the horizontal position (time) of two different files by using
two crosshairs. Put one crosshair at a signal of the first file and put the second
crosshair at a signal of the second file. Now click on Time -> synchronize by crosshairs.
Now the position of the two crosshairs (and that particular position of the two files) will
coincide with eachother.
To view the content of the header of a file (subject, recording, signalproperties like samplerates etc.),
go to file -> info and select the file of interest.
This tool can be used to edit (or anonymize) the header (file info) like subject, birthdate, etc.
You can also edit labels (signalnames), physical dimension, pre-filter and transducer names.
If the file you want to edit has been opened in EDFbrowser already, close it first before starting
this tool.
This tool can also be used to repair a file that can not be opened with EDFbrowser because of
invalid characters in the header (the EDF format allows 7-bit ascii characters only) or other errors.
Other errors that can be fixed with this tool:
- a wrong timestamp format in the header (a colon instead of a dot between the numbers)
- a wrong number of datarecords written in the header
- a wrong filesize (file is not ending on the boundary of a datarecord)
- a broken number i.e. a number with decimal(s) in the digital maximum/minimum field
Do as follows: In EDFbrowser go to Tools -> Header editor. Select the file. Now click on the
"save" button (you don't need to edit the content manually). Close the header editor.
Now open the file in the usual way.
This tool converts all the signals in an EDF or BDF-file to a plain ASCII text-file.
It supports different samplerates between the signals.
Four textfiles will be created:
- EDFfilename_header.txt contains the general header of the file.
- EDFfilename_signals.txt contains all signal headers of the file.
- EDFfilename_data.txt contains the data of all signals.
- EDFfilename_annotations.txt contains all annotations.
filename_data.txt contains a separate line for each sampletime that occurs.
Note to windows-users: these lines are separated by a linefeed only,
so the file does NOT look OK in Notepad, use Wordpad instead.
Each line contains the comma-separated values of the sampletime and of all
samples that were taken at that time.
Sampletime is expressed in seconds, while sample values are expressed in the
physical dimensions that are specified in filename_signals.txt.
All values have a dot (.) as decimal separator.
Different sampling frequencies are allowed in the file. In that case,
not all signals are sampled at each sampletime.
Those sample values are simply left empty, but the comma-separator is there.
note:
All comma's in headertext and annotations will be replaced by
single quotes (') because they interfere with the comma-separated
txt-files.
Unicode/UTF-8 decoding in annotations is not supported because of
the limitations of the ASCII txt-files.
This tool can be used to reduce the number of signals in a file and/or to reduce the duration (length) of a file
and/or to reduce the samplerate of one or more signals.
First, open the file in the usual way in EDFbrowser. Then start the tool and select the file.
Uncheck all the signals you do not want into the new file. If you want to shorten the file, choose the first
datarecord (starttime) and the last datarecord (endtime).
If you don't want to downsample, set the samplerate divider to 1 (default). Otherwise select one of the possible
divider values. Those values depend on the actual samplerate and the datarecord duration.
This tool exports the annotations/events from an EDF+/BDF+ file.
You can choose to save as a comma (or tab) separated textfile, to save as an EDFplus file
or XML. If you have opened multiple files, you can choose to export all
annotations of all opened files into one new file. The header of the file which acts as
the "reference" will be copied into the new EDFplus file. The "reference" file can be selected
in the menu Time -> Timereference.
This tool imports annotations/events. The inputfile can be ASCII (CSV), XML, EDF+ or BDF+.
It's also possible to use a triggersignal in a DC-coupled channel/signal.
An ASCII-file must be organised in rows and columns.
In the import dialog, set the separatorcharacter (the character that separates the columns),
for example: "tab" (tabulator) or "," (comma).
Also, set the columnnumber of the onsettime and the description/label.
If the file starts with a header, adjust the "Data starts at line" spinbox
in order to skip these lines.
If there's only one column in the ascii/txt file (with onset time values), check the
"Manual description" button and enter a description. This description will be used for all
annotations that will be imported from that ascii/txt file.
XML-files need to be encoded either in ISO-8859-1 or UTF-8 character encoding.
The root element name must be "annotationlist", child elements must be named "annotation".
Inside the element "annotation" are the elements "onset", "duration" and "description".
Onset is expressed in the ISO date-time format "yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss" or "yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss.xxx".
Duration is expressed in seconds "145.23" or empty.
Example:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <annotationlist> <annotation> <onset>2006-11-14T09:14:31.0000000</onset> <duration></duration> <description>REC START IIB CAL </description> </annotation> <annotation> <onset>2006-11-14T09:14:31.0000000</onset> <duration></duration> <description>PAT IIB EEG </description> </annotation> <annotation> <onset>2006-11-14T09:14:32.0000000</onset> <duration></duration> <description>A1+A2 OFF </description> </annotation> </annotationlist>
Note: You have to open an EDF/BDF file first in order to be able to import annotations/events.
A "DC-event" consist of a positive impulse (startbit) followed by eight databits and a stopbit (lowlevel).
This signal is recorded onto a dc-coupled inputchannel of the hardware during aquisition.
The eight databits are used to identify a maximum of 256 different types of events/triggers.
The startbit has always a high level and the stopbit has always a lowlevel.
At idle the signal should stay at low level.
The following example shows a dc-event with decimal code 170:
onsettime of the event
| bittime
| |<->|
v | |
1 Volt +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+
| | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |<--triggerlevel = 0.5 Volt
| | | | | | | | | |
0 Volt ----------+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+ +---+--------------
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
| | | | | | | | | | |
idle | | | | | | | | | stopbit, always low
| | | | | | | | db7
| | | | | | | db6
| | | | | | db5
| | | | | db4
| | | | db3
| | | db2
| | db1
| db0
startbit, always high
The binary code in the example is 01010101 which is 170 decimal.
The rising edge of the startbit represents the time of the event (for example, an evoked potential).
The voltage levels can be freely chosen. In the importdialog adjust the triggerlevel to a level that is equal
to: (lowlevel + highlevel) / 2.
Also, set the bittime used for the DC-event.
Note that the intervaltime between two consegutive events must be more than ten times the bittime.
It is possible not to use the code but just only the startbit. In that case all triggers will have the code "0".
In that case you can use a simple on/off pulse as a trigger.
Note: The signal which contains the DC-event must be put on the screen in order to be available in the selectionscreen.
Also, the signal must be unipolar, i.e. not a derivation. Next, the detectionalgorithm of the triggers in this signal will bypass
any filters.
To use the Z-EEG measurement, leftclick on the signallabel and choose "Z-EEG".
Z-ratio = ((Delta + Theta) - (Alpha + Beta)) / (Delta + Theta + Alpha + Beta)
Z-ratio, therefore, is a measure of the relative contribution of slow to fast EEG activity within a
2-second epoch. It ranges from -1 to +1, with negative values indicating a predominance of fast
activity and positive values indicating a predominance of slow activity.
A per page score for z-ratio was derived by averaging the majority of 15 2-second z-ratios.
The average of the majority is the z-page.
The algorithm is derived from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8746389/
http://www.zzzratio.com/Z-bib.pdf
This tool converts an ASCII-file (.csv or .txt file) to EDF or BDF. The following rules apply:
- the data in the ASCII-file must be presented in their physical dimension (i.e. uV, bpm, mmHg, etc.)
- the data in the ASCII-file must be organised in columns and rows
- a row must contain values from different signals/channels aquired at the same sampletime
- a column must represent a continuous sampled signal/channel
- all signals/channels must have the same samplefrequency
- the timeinterval between two consecutive samples of the same signal/channel must have a stable value (fixed samplerate)
Enter the following parameters:
- the character that separates the different columns (i.e. "tab" ","(comma) ";"(semicolon) " "(space) etc.)
- the number of columns
- the line at which the data starts. some ASCII-files contain headers, so use this entry
to tell the converter to skip n-lines before interpreting the data
- samplefrequency
- subject (the name of the subject)
- recording (a description about the type of recording/aquisition)
- startdate and time of the recording/aquisition
- signals: for every column in the ASCII-file, there is a row in the signals-table.
every row has a checkbox and four inputfields:
- label (name of the signal/channel i.e. FP1, SaO2, Heartrate, etc.)
- physical maximum (the maximum physical value that can occur, i.e. the maximum inputlevel
of the aquisition equipment. A common value in EEG applications is 3000 uV)
physical minimum will be equal to physical maximum. for example, if you enter 3000, the
range will be from +3000 to -3000
- physical dimension (i.e. uV, %, mmHg, bpm)
- multiplier is normally 1.0. Some programs exports their ascii-data expressed in Volts while
the signal is in the microVolt range. By changing the multiplier you can add gain to the signal before converting.
For example, if the ascii-data is expressed in Volts and the signal is in the microVolt range (EEG),
set the physical maximum to 3000, set the physical dimension to "uV" and set the multiplier to 1000000.
It is possible to exclude columns, by unchecking the corresponding row in the signals-table,
this can be useful when a column contains a time/datestamp or when you don't want to include
a particular signal in the EDF/BDF-file.
Click on the startbutton to start the conversion.
Click on the savebutton to save the entered parameters in a template.
Click on the loadbutton to load parameters from a template.
Note: It is important to enter the right value in the "physical maximum" field.
If you to choose this value too small, the top of the signal will be cut off.
If you choose this value too big, small values of the signal will not be visible
and the signal will look coarse.
The ideal value for the "physical maximum" is just above (or equal to) the maximum value that can occur,
i.e. the maximum possible output of the sensor or ADC, either positive or negative.
Therefore, it's better to set the checkbox "Auto detect physical maximum". That way you don't need to
enter the values in the column "Physical maximum".
Note 2: The maximum physical value that the converter can handle, is limited to 9999999. Values above
will be clipped to 9999999 and values below -9999999 will be clipped at -9999999.
If you expect higher values in your ascii-file, use the multiplier. For example,
set the multiplier to 0.1, 0.01 or 0.001, etc.
Note 3: If you think that, later, you want to make derivations (for example P4 - C4 in EEG applications),
make sure that the signals have the same value in the physical maximum field.
Also, do not set the checkbox "Auto detect physical maximum".
This tool converts EEG-files in Nihon Kohden format to the European Data Format
(EDF or EDF+ with annotations/events).
Three files are needed for a conversion to EDF+:
- nihonkohdenfile.eeg
- nihonkohdenfile.pnt
- nihonkohdenfile.log
In case you have only the nihonkohdenfile.eeg you can not convert to EDF+.
It is still possible to convert to EDF. In that case there will be no annotations/events and patientinfo.
The Marker/Event channel will be decoded on the fly when opening the new created EDF+ file with EDFbrowser.
If the screen becomes too "noisy" because of drawing too many annotations, you can switch them of by
unchecking the "Read Nihon Kohden Trigger/Marker signal" checkbox in the Settings-menu.
The new settings will be effective after closing and re-opening the file.
Also, you can selectively hide annotations by rightclicking on an annotation in the annotationwindow.
Note: In case you changed the default electrodenames in the Nihon Kohden aquisition software,
you need also the *.21e file which contains the electrode names (labels).
This tool converts the waveform data and events/triggers from a collection of Unisense data files to EDF+.
Limitations of the converter:
- the Unisens XML-file must be encoded in UTF-8 or ISO-8859-1.
- Broken numbers for samplerate >= 1 Hz will be rounded to the nearby integer e.g. 2.75 Hz will be rounded to 3 Hz.
Samplerates below 1 Hz will be rounded to 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, etc. til 1/1000 Hz.
Lowest samplerate is 0.001 Hz
- Output format of the converter is EDF+ (16-bit) when all files have a samplesize of 16-bit or lower.
When one or more files have a samplesize of more than 16-bit, output format of the converter will be BDF+ (24-bit).
An extra feature of the converter which is not in the offical Unisens data format specification:
- support for binary sampletypes: int24 and uint24.
This tool converts the waveform data of an SCP ECG file to EDF+.
Before conversion it performs a CRC-check on the file.
Encoding using the default Huffman table is supported.
Customized Huffman tables are not supported.
Bimodal compression is not supported. Character-encoding other than ASCII/Latin-1 is not supported.
This tool converts a Manscan MICROAMPS binary data file to EDF+.
Two files are needed for the conversion, one with the extension ".mbi" and one with the extension ".mb2".
This tool converts a Biosemi data file to BDF+ and makes it possible to visualize the
trigger interrupts and the "new epoch" in EDFbrowser.
The Status signal of the Biosemi datafile which contains the input triggers will be
converted to annotations in the BDF+ format. The original file will not be altered.
Instead, a copy of the file will be made in the BDF+ format which will contain annotations
extracted from the Status signal (which contains the input triggers).
The original Status signal will be preserved in the new file.
You'll find the Biosemi to BDF+ converter in the Tools-menu.
BDF+ files are backwards compatibel and can be read and processed with older BDF software.
BDF+ files can be converted to EDF+ while preserving your annotations.
Use the BDF to EDF converter in the Tools menu.
Limitations:
- The maximum number of annotations (input triggers) in the new file is:
duration of file in seconds multiplied by 32. If the original file contains more trigger input events, they will be ignored.
If, for example, the duration of a file is 5 minutes, the first 9600 input triggers will be converted to BDF+ annotations.
- The precision of the annotations is limited to 100 microSeconds (0.0001 sec.).
- Only the 17 lowest bits of the Status signal will be evaluated and converted.
This tool converts the ASCII-output (*.txt) of the Finometer (Beatscope) to EDF.
Finometer is a non-invasive stationary blood measurement and beat to beat haemodynamic monitoring system
made by Finapres Medical Systems.
Start Beatscope and open the file of interest.
Go to File -> Export.
- set export type to textfile
- set timeformat to seconds
- check output: header
- set averaging to none
- check datacolumnwidth: delimiter
- set delimiter to semicolon ";"
- check export beats and/or events: beats only
- select the channels you want to export
Now click on the Export-button to create the file.
In EDFbrowser, you'll find the Finometer to EDF converter in the Tools-menu.
In order to create a correct EDF-file header, enter the subject and a description about
the type of recording/aquisition.
Adjust the startdate and starttime to the date and time when the Finometer registration took place.
Click on the "select file" button to select the Finometer/Beatscope file.
This tool converts a Waveform Audio File (*.wav) to EDF.
The converter accepts 8, 16 and 24 bit wave files.
It accepts 1 to 256 channels and samplerates from 1 Hz to 500000 Hz.
8 and 16 bit wave files will be converted to EDF. 24 bit wave files will be
converted to BDF. Compressed files are not supported.
This tool converts the ASCII-output (*.csv) of the Nexfin (FrameInspector) to EDF.
Nexfin is a non-invasive stationary blood measurement and beat to beat haemodynamic monitoring system
made by Bmeye B.V.
Start FrameInspector (it can be downloaded from the Nexfin website), open the file of interest and
choose "Generic export".
Now click on the Export-button to create the csv and bin files.
In EDFbrowser, you'll find the Nexfin to EDF converter in the Tools-menu.
In order to create a correct EDF-file header, enter the subject and a description about
the type of recording/aquisition.
Adjust the startdate and starttime to the date and time when the Nexfin registration took place.
Select which file you want to convert: beat-to-beat data, blood pressure waveform or the analog inputs.
(for analog inputs: select "4 inputs" in case AO option is configured, else "1 input")
Click on the "select file" button to select the Nexfin/FrameInspector csv or bin file.
For beat-to-beat data you need to select the file that ends with "_100.csv".
For blood pressure waveform you need to select the file that ends with "_103.bin".
For the analog inputs you need to select the file that ends with "_032.bin".
This tool converts an Emsa eeg-file (*.PLG) to EDF+. If the corresponding *.LBK file is
present, the annotations/events will be exported to EDF+ as well.
This tool converts an EDF+D file to multiple EDF+C files. An EDF+D file can contain
interrupted recordings. This converter export every uninterrupted recording to a new
uninterrupted EDF+C file.
This tool can be used for BDF+D files as well.
This tool converts a BDF file to an EDF file. A BDF+ file will be converted to
EDF+, including the annotations/events.
It uses a first order highpass-filter to remove the DC-part of the signal in order
to make the 24-bits samples fit into the 16-bits samples of EDF.
The cutoff-frequency of the highpass-filters can be adjusted for every signal.
You can also select which signals have to be converted into the new EDF(+) file.
Increasing the divider lowers the resolution but increases the range (physical
maximum and minimum)
This tool checks if a file is EDF(+) or BDF(+) compliant.
It checks the data and all the annotations and timestamps.
When it finds an error, it tells you what the error is and where it is in the file.
A description of the EDF fileformat can be found at:
http://www.teuniz.net/edfbrowser/edf format description.html
A description of the EDF+ fileformat can be found at:
http://www.edfplus.info/specs/edfplus.html
A description of the BDF fileformat can be found at:
http://www.biosemi.com/faq/file_format.htm
A description of the BDF+ fileformat can be found at:
http://www.teuniz.net/edfbrowser/bdfplus format description.html
note:
A compatibility check of the header of the file is always done when you open an
EDF(+)/BDF(+) file. When a file appears to be incompatible it will not be opened,
you will be informed about the cause of the incompatibility instead.
Note: If a file can not be opened with EDFbrowser because of invalid characters in the header
(the EDF format allows 7-bit ascii characters only), you can try to fix it with the header editor.
In EDFbrowser go to Tools -> Header editor. Select the file. Now click on the "save" button
(do not edit the content!). Close the header editor. Now open the file in EDFbrowser.
This tool converts the binary (raw) (ADC-)data from a file to a new EDF-file.
This is a kind of "last resort" measure when there are no other tools or EDF-converters available.
You need to figure out how the data in your file is organised and you need to have a good knowledge of
how computers store data in memory (file). This tool is for experts only.
All signals must have the same samplerate and the data-samples in the file must be stored sequentially:
sample 1 ch.1, sample 1 ch.2, sample 1 ch.3,
sample 2 ch.1, sample 2 ch.2, sample 2 ch.3,
sample 3 ch.1, sample 3 ch.2, sample 3 ch.3,
sample 4 ch.1, etc.
Set the samplefrequency and the number of signals (channels).
The samplesize is the size of a digital sample expressed in bytes.
Encoding is the binary system used to present a digital value:
value bipolar offset binary 2's complementSee also: Coding Schemes Used with Data Converters
15 1111 0111
14 1110 0110
.... .... ....
2 1010 0010
1 1001 0001
0 1000 0000
-1 0111 1111
-2 0110 1110
.... .... ....
-15 0001 1001
-16 0000 1000
You can print/export to PDF in File -> Print -> to PDF
You can print/export to an image in File -> Print -> to Image
The option "Print to EDF" creates a new EDF-file which will contain the signals
(and annotations) as they are on your screen. What you see is what you get,
like when you print to a printer, PDF-file or image. You can also open multiple
files, shift them in time (by using the different timelock options in the timemenu)
and "print" the result as one new EDF-file. The result wil contain the time-shifted
signals.
It is also possible to extract one or more signals from one (or more) files into a new file.
This function is located in File -> Print menu.
The following rules apply:
- the length (duration) of the new file will be equal to the selected displaytime (timescale)
- combined signals (derivations) will become one signal like they are on your screen
- in case of multple files, the new file will get the subject, recording, date and time
of the file that has the reference at the moment of printing.
You can select the reference in the Time-menu
- if (one of) the file(s) is of type EDF+, the outputfile will be an EDF+ file as well,
otherwise EDF
- when selected multiple files, the datarecordduration of these files
needs to be the same or an integer multiple of eachother
- if you selected any filters, these will be applied as well
The option "Print to BDF" creates a new BDF-file which will contain the signals
(and annotations) as they are on your screen, in the same way like the Print to EDF function,
except that it is also possible to print EDF(+) files to BDF. You can even mix
EDF and BDF files onto your screen and print them to a new BDF file.
The annotation editor can be used to add, remove or edit annotations.
Start the editor via menu -> Window -> Annotation editor.
To create a new annotation, write the text of the annotation in the description window and set
the onset time. You can set the duration time as well. If the duration time is unknown or not
applicable, set it to the value -1. Now click on the create button.
Instead of manually entering the onset time, you can use a crosshair.
Drag and drop the crosshair and the onset time will be automatically adjusted.
You can use a second crosshair to adjust the duration time.
To modify an existent annotation, click on the annotation in the annotation window.
Adjust the text and or time, manually or drag and drop the annotation marker.
To delete an annotation, click on the annotation in the annotation window and click
on the delete button.
When you are finished editing annotations, save the file in menu -> File -> Save.
Your file will not be altered, instead a copy of your file with the edited annotations
will be made.
Note: The annotation editor will limit the precision of the onset-time of the annotations
to 1 milliSecond.
edfbrowser [datafile.edf] [mymontage.mtg]
It is possible to start the program from the commandline:
edfbrowser.exe
this will start the program.
or
edfbrowser.exe myfile.edf
this will start the program with the file myfile.edf opened.
or
edfbrowser.exe myfile.edf mymontage.mtg
this will start the program with the file myfile.edf opened and using the montage mymontage.mtg.
Q. How do I add signals to the screen?
A. Use the signalsdialog.
Q. How can I change the amplitude of a signal?
A. Leftclick on the signallabel of that signal. A small dialog will appear. There is a
spinbox that will let you change the amplitude of the signal.
Another way is to rightclick on the signallabel and move the mousepointer up or down
while keeping the right mousebutton pressed. This will increase or decrease the amplitude
of the signal on the screen.
Q. How can I see the value of a signal?
A. Use a crosshair.
Q. I added signals from multiple files but some of them are not visible on the screen.
A. Go to the "Time" menu and set it to "Synchronize start of files".
Then select Time -> Go to start of file.
Now select Amplitude -> Fit to pane.
Q. I want to open two files in different windows.
A. Start the program twice and you can open files in different windows.
Q. When I try to open a file, it says that the file is not EDF(+)/BDF(+) compliant.
What do I do?
A. Try to find out what program created that file. Write the maker/developer of that
program and tell him/her that the program does not produce valid EDF(+)/BDF(+) files.
Ask him/her to fix that program.
If you get the message that a character in the header is not a valid ASCII-character,
use the header editor to repair your file.
Q. How can I combine multiple EDF/BDF files?
A. Use the Print to EDF function.
Q. What is the difference between EDF and BDF?
A. The difference is the resolution. In EDF the maximum resolution is 16 bits, so the ratio
between the smallest and the largest value is 1 to 2^16 or 1:65536.
In BDF the resolution is 24 bits, so the ratio between the smallest and the largest value is
1 to 2^24 or 1:16777216. In other words, the dynamic range of a BDF file is much higher.
BDF is the 24-bits version of EDF, invented because more and more ADC's/aquisition systems use
24-bits analoog to digital converters. When you try to store the data from a 24-bits ADC into EDF,
you will lose information.
Q. When I print a file, the borders are cut away (the first characters of the signallabels are missing).
A. In the printerdialog, choose "landscape" and the right papersize (A4) and
adjust the margins in the printerproperties.
For example, set top and bottom margins to 0.85 cm and the left and right margins to 1.27 cm.
Q. When I print to a PDF file, the traces look grey instead of black when I open the file
in Adobe Reader 8.x.
A. In Adobe Reader, go to Edit->Preferences->Page Display and uncheck "Smooth line art".
Q. Why are the annotationmarkers not visible?
A. Go to the Settings menu. Check "Annotation marker" and make sure that it
has a different color than the background color.
Q. The amplitude settings are not correct. For example, 100 uV/cm is 100 uV/1.5 cm.
A. This can happen when the DPI-settings of the operatingsystem are wrong. For example,
when EDFbrowser can not read your monitorsettings or when the monitorsettings are wrong.
You can solve this as follows. Go to the settingsmenu and open the Calibration tab and
check the "Manually override automatic DPI settings" checkbox. Now measure the two black
rectangles, enter the values and click on the apply button.
Q. What are the system requirements?
A. There are no special requirements. However, the faster your CPU and the more memory,
the faster you can navigate. For example, a large pagetime (five minutes or more) will make
the responsetime of the program longer, specially when you add a lot of signals and/or
when the signals have a high samplerate.
When you open a file with a size of hundred megabytes and you choose to make the whole
recording visible on the screen, the program will load the whole file (hundred megabytes)
into memory (RAM).
Q. Which operatingsystems are supported?
A. Linux and Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7. The source can be compiled on the Mac.
Q. Which license is used for the program?
A. The GNU General Public License version 2. For more info go to Help -> About EDFbrowser.
Q. I think I found a bug. Where do I report it?
A. First check if you are using the latest version of EDFbrowser.
If the bug persists, send an email to teuniz@gmail.com