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Heart Tuner
coherence - biofeedback - heart rate variability - neurofeedback - electrophysiology - life force measurement

Q&A:

does the HeartTuner offer these functions:

- analysis of short-term HRV incorporating nonparametric and preferably also parametric spectral analysis
- analysis based on regular sampling of the tachograms (what sampling rate, per what [beat, sec?])
- nonparametric spectral analysis which uses at least 512 but preferably 1024 points for a five-minute recording (what does the HT use?)

They also list standards for the analysis of long-term HRV, but am I right in assuming that these are inappropriate for the HeartTuner? They include:

- time domain methods including all 'four standard measures' (specified as SDNN, SDANN, RMSSD, and HRV triangular index)
- frequency analysis in five-minute segments ('using the same precision as with the analysis of short-term ECGs')
- spectral analysis of the 24-hour record to compute HF, LF, VLF and ULF components, the periodgram sampling should be the same as for the short-term analysis, eg 218 points.

See Figure 7 in the article too for the recommended 'strategy for obtaining the data for the HRV analysis'. Is this relevant for the HT?

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Answer:

Heart Rate Variability's Most Profound Power to Heal Lies in Teaching Conscious Control. Harmonic Inclusiveness (Medically Shown to Limit Chronic Disease) In HRV Can Be Achieved Sustainably ONLY IF That Skill Is Consciously Learned. (The Medical Model - let the doctor fix it for you - is the least sustainable - most dis-empowering). Conscious Learning Requires That the Feedback Rate To Teach It - Is Fast Enough So A Conscious Connection Is Made Between The HRV Success versus the Emotion That Produced It.

5 Minutes of Averaging May Produce Slightly More Resolution In the Display of the HRV Power Spectra - But Paying the Price For That Slightly Added Resolution - the Elimination of the Real Time FEEL to Consciously TEACH HRV Health - IS Unnecessary..

Because - HeartTuner has a better way:

The HeartTuner state of the art preamplifier is really a 4 channel - opto-isolated battery powered UL/FDA approved device. It is set up to process 2 ECG channels simultaneously. The HeartTuner design is specifically optimized to provide feedback to the user IN TIME TO ALLOW THEM TO TAKE IMMEDIATE INTERNAL ACTION to change their own heart. This is much different than most HRV systems - whose function is more for later diagnosis - and as a result the HeartTuner experience is probably a revolution in self-empowerment.

The medical paradigm which says the doctor takes control of your health - implies only he needs to understand your HRV - in an after the fact analysis. The HeartTuner view is different - our view is that once the user understands the need to achieve a harmonically inclusive HRV - the user can see and choose to do that real time - using among other things the variables of breath control - as well as the revolutionary new measure of heart coherence offered by HeartTuner. This difference in user intention - self-empowerment by close to real time feedback :including learned EMOTIONAL coherence - - versus later diagnosis only - means the HeartTuner design is unique - in the medical world. (The feedback time to HRV display must find a way to be much faster / shorter in delay time / than most medical applications conceive necessary.)

Specifically - the HeartTuner offers accurate HRV spectral information as close to real time as electrically possible. This provides the service of allowing the person to adjust their breath and heart rate almost real time - in response to screen biofeedback. The quickness of the time to feedback allows a yogic kind of breath control for example to be learned dynamically - with true almost immediacy of feeling to the feedback. (Sufficient for example to allow the above kind of caddeuceus breath to be learned looking at heart beat interval).

The number in the lower left of the screen - changing constantly - is the number of samples waiting to be analyzed in the buffer - note that for most even moderately slow computers this number will generally be under 20-50. Since the HeartTuner's digital sampling rate is 120 samples per second - if you divide this number by 120 - you can see that the delay to analysis of data usually is under .1 (1/10) of a second. This is not to say the curve drawn in each display box is faster than 1 second from actual event, but it is close.

The way the HeartTuner goes about acheiving faster real time display of HRV data is the use of A SEPARATE ANALOG PEAK COUNTER IN THE HARDWARE PRE-AMPLIFIER to measure the beat to beat interval time. (The extra 2 channels of the 4 channel device looking at only 2 signal sets).

The result of this has many benfits:

- the analog circuit determines the timing of the beat peak with an accuracy much greater than even the 1024 point 5 min recording strategy in the question above.

- the computer CPU is completely saved the speed penalty needed to do power spectra of data samples windowed for at least 10 -20 seconds normally needed to see an HRV with an accuracy down to .1 (1/10) hertz. (that would be a supercomputer job to analyze 20 seconds at 120 samples per second in an FFT array).

So - in summary - the HeartTuner does a form of the FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) (generally a non-parametric technique) of the Beat Interval plot to display the HRV spectra in Hertz - complete with a time history waterfall display of the curve.

The HeartTuner basic sampling rate is 120 samples/ sec. for the regular power spectra display offering fast coherence training feedback. However - the HRV spectra display is not based on that sampling rate - but rather the accurate timing of the beat peak intervals determined by a special state of the art separate peak counter. Then the time in seconds between those peaks is plotted - and those times are taken into an FFT of about 50 peak counts (30-50 seconds roughly) window to then plot the HRV spectra.

The HeartTuner's averaging window is then MUCH less than 5 minutes for the HRV display - because while a doctor might want to know how stable the average was - the USER - cannot make the connection between CHOOSING A FEELING and seeing the result - if that result takes 5 minutes to get to the screen. That is why the HeartTuner's accomplishment to get HRV info on the screen MUCH closer to real time than most doctors could imagine - is both revolutionary and self-empowering. As such the above medical literature discussion of what makes good HRV display is actually the OPPOSITE of what it takes to make an HRV display self-empowering to a user who wishes to take control of the relationship of their emotion to their health! In the view of this inventor of the HeartTuner - this is indicative of the medical tradition for dis-empowering the patient - failing to recognize that the real meaning of HRV is for the patient to discover the connection between CHOOSING COHERENCE and CHOOSING HARMONIC INCLUSIVENESS by INTELLIGENT EMOTING.

The nice thing about HeartTuner - is that the 4 separate raw and spectra data files simultaneously exported by HeartTuner - allow anyone with reasonable skill in spreadsheet software like Excel - to plot longer time window averaging HRV for example.

Medicine did not know what live blood cell microscopy was - until persons other than traditional dis-empowering doctors - chose to show people their blood 'real time'. Medicine did not know what live electron microscopy was until Raymond Royal Rife - showed microscopy in vivo - better than current 'dead stuff - post mortem only' electron microscopy - in so discovering the energy bases (frequency signatures) of many diseases.

The medical ideal to display more detail by averaging HRV data over longer time - is clearly appropriate in many diagnostic situations - for that the HeartTuner provides ready data export. The HeartTuner's primary function to teach real emotional control over heart coherence , and HRV harmonic inclusiveness - is unparalleled anywhere - and clearly cannot be measured by statistical techniques (implied in the above referenced medical article on how to take an HRV) SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO PREVENT A USER FROM SEEING HIS OWN HRV FAST ENOUGH TO EMOTIONALLY REMEMBER WHAT THE FEELING WAS THAT MADE THE PLOT.

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The HeartTuner does not do Standard Deviation of 5 minute histories of HRV. Altho 5 minute averaging of heart coherence IS possible ON SCREEN by setting the ceptrum averaging window on in the settings options. Of course Standard Deviation (SD) can easily be offered from the data files exported - in later processing.

24 hour averaging would be possible with HeartTuner with data export post analysis. NOTE however in only the latest HeartTuner Pro - update available from the lab - is separate data file export for HRV offered in the settings menu

Note figure 7 in the referenced article describing ideal HRV data taking procedure is obsolete and irrelevant to the use of a separate analog peak counter to accurately measure the milliseconds between peaks faster and more accurately than even high sampling rate Analog to Digital sampling.