Contact person

• Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Steffen Leonhardt

Project description

ECG signals are routinely recorded interoperatively to observe cardiac function. It allows diagnosis of the electric activity of the heart and thus serves to monitor one of the most important vital signs. However, the conventional measurement of ECG using conductive electrodes can lead to a variety of problems. For examples, allergic reactions can occur that can lead to severe damage of the skin of newborns. In addition, the ability to move freely can be impaired in long-term ECGs.

Project goals

Thus, it is desirable to measure ECG signals unobtrusively. This can be achieved using capacitively coupled electrodes. Based on an ECG Chair that was developed at this institute, in this project we develop strategies to optimize the quality of the ECG signal. In addition, the system will be validated in clinical studies. Here, the ECG of patients that underwent a specific surgery the previous day in the university hospital will be measured using capacitively coupled electrodes. As a reference, a standard conductively coupled ECG will be recorded in parallel.

One possible application example ist the derivation of an ECG recorded by means of a car seat, for illustration see http://youtu.be/eJZqsSVdWRY.

Project partners

• Philips Technologie GmbH Forschungslaboratorien Aachen
• Philips Electronics Nederland B.V.
• Clothing Plus Oy
• CSEM
• Valtion Teknillinen Tutkimuskeskus
• Faculdade Ciencias e Tecnologia da Universidade de Coimbra
• The Chinese Univerity of Hong Kong
• mediPlac

Publications

• T. Wartzek, C. Brüser, M. Walter, S. Leonhardt: Robust Sensor Fusion of Unobtrusively Measured Heart Rate; IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics; 2014; 18(2):654-660.
• T. Wartzek, B. Eilebrecht, J. Lem, H.-J. Lindner, S. Leonhardt, M. Walter: ECG on the Road: Robust and Unobtrusive Estimation of Heart Rate; IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering; 2011, 58(11):3112 - 3120.
• Schommartz, B. Eilebrecht, T. Wartzek, M. Walter, and S. Leonhardt: Advances in Modern Capacitive ECG Systems for Continuous Cardiovascular Monitoring; Acta Polytechnica, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 100-105, 2011.
• T. Wartzek, T. Lammersen, B. Eilebrecht, M. Walter, S. Leonhardt: Triboelectricity in Capacitive Biopotential Measurements; IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering; 2011; 58(5):1268-77.
• A. Aleksandrowicz, M. Walter, S. Leonhardt: Wireless ECG Measurement System with Capacitive Coupling. Biomed Tech 2007; 52:185:192, Berlin / New York
• M. Steffen, A. Aleksandrowicz, S. Leonhardt: Mobile Non-contact Monitoring of Heart and Lung Activity. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, Vol. 1, Pages: 250-257 2007.
• A. Aleksandrowicz, S. Leonhardt: Non-Contact ECG Monitoring for Automotive Application. 5th Workshop on Body Sensor Networks, June 1-3, 2008, Hong Kong.