The delay performance of compression algorithms is particularly important when time-critical data transmission is required. In this paper, we propose a wavelet-based electrocardiogram (ECG) compression algorithm with a low delay property for instantaneous, continuousECGtransmission suitable for telecardiology applications over a wireless network. The proposed algorithm reduces the frame size as much as possible to achieve a low delay, while maintaining reconstructed signal quality. To attain both low
delay and high quality, it employs waveform partitioning, adaptive frame size adjustment, wavelet compression, flexible bit allocation, and header compression. The performances of the proposed algorithm in terms of reconstructed signal quality, processing delay, and error resilience were evaluated using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology University and Beth Israel Hospital (MITBIH) and CreightonUniversityVentricularTachyarrhythmia (CU) databases and a code division multiple access-based simulation