I'm trying to determine a hardware purchasing decision for a 'stripped down' single-lead ECG for ambulatory heart rate recording, over probably several hours, in groups.
We already have, on one hand. laboratory ECGs which are sufficiently accurate and data-accessible. These aren't portable - mains powered, heavy, etc.
We also have a few excellent portable systems (the VU-AMS, for instance) - these are entirely too expensive to buy 6-10 duplicates.
On the other, we have very small, phone-capable pulse monitors and other consumer grade devices (e.g. AliveCor) which measure heart rate with a 'good enough' degree of accuracy for mass research. The main problem with these is that they invariably require the hands.
Thus, it needs to be:
* two wire, single lead ECG - nothing fancy. Attached with disposables.
* portable, battery powered
* min 12 bit A/D
* min 500hz sampling (obviously more is preferred!)
* (hopefully) not so expensive they can't be deployed en masse
* most importantly: have easy export of raw ECG traces for analysis elsewhere
There are no other needs (accelerometry, EMG, etc. all irrelevant).
Does anyone have a recommendation for a device?
Absolutely. We have several, I should have mentioned.
One of my primary considerations is the relationship between P-wave, PR segment, and the cycle length in normal sinus rhythm, so an R-wave-only output sadly won't do.
I also prefer to be able to see the waveform in order to understand any correction necessary. Polar straps (when run through the watch) introduce linear error corrections which have the potential to ruin frequency analysis.
I've worked with Hidalgo EquiVital data. Good-looking ECG waveform when the subject is not moving. BTW, the lead-II appearing CR-5 electrode placement of I. Astrand (1967), reviewed by Simonson (1971), minimizes motion artifact better than other placements.
I didn't know this company, thank you for the advice.
(From memory, CR-5 is the same as V5, and unfortunately this will kill my P-waves...)
Hi James,
Maybe this can be an option to consider: http://www.bitalino.com
Best regards,
Hugo Silva
Hello down under,
Mentioning a price range can be helpful in giving you advice.
Cheers!
Loek
Hi James,
We are also considering the eMotion as suggested above.
Also some experience with Shimer devices, which I would not recommend
Hi James,
If you already haven't made up your mind, I can warmly recommend the eMotion Faros device from which I have some experience.
I don't know if it fulfills your needs, but the Cardiax system from Imed might be of interest. It can record 12 leads, but you can choose to only record 1. Data is stored on an android device.
http://www.imed.hu/en/android
We have invented a wireless one lead ECG system, which can work for several hours and use Bluetooth upload data to smart Phone. It use three wires and LabVIEW software to build a PC based real time ECG wave monitor, Heart Rate detect etc.
I know a very cheap ECG-12 leads professional devise to be connected to USB port: an apparatus which comes from a collaboration between Gemany and Republic of Chine and has the EC (European Community) guarantee. [ If you are interesetd let me know at my E-mail address ([email protected]) ]
For everyone's interest, we now have a test Faros device. I haven't used it yet, but I'm being sent the data, which is very good quality. The filter banks are obviously set up well because there's not a lot of distortion and ambulatory data seems to come through neatly. I suppose I can recommend this device myself now.
We're currently working on a revamped version of BITalino... maybe something to consider in the future: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitalino/bitalino-revolution
I am a HUGE fan of this Bitalino rig. If I was starting my doctorate from scratch right now, or had to supervise a student who was, I would spending my department's money like a drunken sailor on every piece of Bitalino kit I could find. This is very, very exciting.
The simple fact is that this is the first platform which allows NON-engineers to innovate with HARDware, if they care enough to do so. That is totally unique, and very worthwhile.
(I am also extremely bullish on the galvanically isolated USB - ethics committees who know what they're doing can be very leery of mains-powered devices which aren't CE tested etc. This is a significant step for getting the hardware into formal research contexts.)
You should check http://www.biosignalpi.org/. It is a open-source, open-hardware initiative based in the Raspberry PI meant to facilitate the development of biosignal measurement devices
We have been using for years a telemetric device (BT16Plus, Marazza, Monza, Italy, www.francescomarazza.it).
It is a battery supplied smaller-than-a-pack-of-sigarette telemeter, recording one single ECG lead + respiratory movements by thoracic belt. Signal transfer is achieved via bluetooth on any Windows PC. Transmission is very stable up to 48 hours. Cost is extremely competitive.
That's fantastic, I didn't even know this build but it stands to reason that it's been possible for an established company to do for a very long time.
If anyone's interested, I found the specs in English here:
http://www.francescomarazza.it/doc/bt16plusSpec_eng.pdf
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