[SOLVED] How to read .dat file in MATLAB

How to read .dat file in MATLAB

I am trying to read an ECG signal from PTB dataset, the file extension is ".dat" ,i am using Matlab function for that:

load('s0484_re.dat');

where "s0484_re.dat" is the file name but i am getting an error like this:

Error using load Unknown text on line number 1 of ASCII file s0484_re.dat "��\�".

Error in signal2image (line 8) load('s0484_re.dat');

how i can read this file correctly? Any help will be appreciated..

Solution

The file extension .dat can be used for many different types of binary data file and doesn't tell you what format the data is in.

By searching on 'PTB dataset` I found the information that the data files in this dataset are in 'WaveForm DataBase (WFDB) format', and by searching mathworks.com for 'WFDB' I found a few links including a toolbox for handling WFDB files. Try this toolbox, and update your question if it doesn't solve your problem.