Wireless, non-contact driver's ECG monitoring system

Abstract

This paper describes a technique for non-contact measurement of cardiac signals (ECG) from the driver of a car, with a wireless interface, thus allowing continuous monitoring of driver health. The system employs an ultra high impedance solid state electric field sensor - Electric Potential Integrated Circuit (EPIC) - developed by Plessey Semiconductors Ltd and the University of Sussex [1]. Recent developments in both technology and understanding have resulted in a reliable technique for measuring ECG through clothing by means of sensors embedded in the driver's seat. A Bluetooth interface enables transmission of the data to a monitoring system, either in-car or on a mobile device such as a smart phone or tablet. The data can be monitored in "real time", or subsequently sent over mobile or cloud computing networks to a remote server for analysis.