Apparatus and methods for analyzing implantable medical device (IMD) data
and to distinguish specific morphologies for review. EGM waveforms of a
cardiac cycle can be grouped according to waveform shape similarities,
preferably accomplished using clustering algorithms. The EGM waveform can
be divided into segments represented by a one dimensional vector for each
segment, and nearest neighbor vector clustering used to group the
waveforms according to morphological similarity. The waveforms can be
further grouped at a second level into chronologically contiguous similar
EGM waveforms. Interval data for a cardiac cycle may also be grouped
according to interval similarity and chronology. The chronologically
contiguous waveform and interval groupings may be further grouped. Large
quantities of EGM data are automatically analyzed and annotated to focus
the attention of a cardiologist on likely areas of concern, reducing the
need to visually inspect endless streams of EGM waveforms.