Low-Cost Portable ECG

Abstract

Common contemporary ECG units are computer-based devices that can be connected to the computer network to enable simultaneous monitoring of several patients in, e.g., intensive care units. Typically, these devices are relatively large, heavy, and powered from the wall socket. As a result, the movement of a patient is limited, even in cases when the patient's physical condition does not bind him/her to the bed. This paper describes proof-of-concept portable device for electrocardiography which can measure three elemental ECG leads, is battery powered and transmits measured data into a central data collection unit via WiFi. Therefore, the patient can leave the bed for a reasonable distance, while the physician can continue monitoring the patient's health condition. It is easy to quickstart usage and mass production of the presented prototype. We have tested the hardware and developed the necessary software. The system is based on ADAS1000 from Analog Devices as an ECG analogue front-end. Measured data are processed by STM32L0 MCU and sent to the data collection unit using the ESP8266 WiFi module.