Researchers at Quantum Applied Science and Research (QUASAR) developed a new class of sensor that measures the electric potential in free space, i.e., without physical contact to any object. This sensor, the capacitively coupled noncontact electrode (CCNE) can detect electrocardiogram (ECG) and respiratory signals through clothing and is being considered by the U.S. Army as a physiological monitoring detection sensor on the Future Force Warrior System uniform and for en route care to monitor wounded soldiers during evacuation. A noncontact system would provide not only simple heart-rate changes and interbeat interval variability, but with sufficient waveform fidelity, could also monitor arrhythmias and conduction abnormalities associated with hypotension and cardiac ischemia. A combat medic armed with the information from such a system could properly ascertain the level of injury and the survival potential of the injured and provide optimum care in the battlefield and during en route care from the battlefield. In this article, we compare three CCNE sensors to an FDA-approved monitor (using contact electrodes) to determine if the R-R interbeat intervals (the time between two consecutive R waves of the cardiac cycle and used to determine heart rate) measured by the two methods are the same or not. Each sensor detects the local electric potential measured relative to another voltage. For conventional electrodes, the reference voltage is usually obtained by a resistive connection to one or more limbs. The output of each CCNE electrode was recorded relative to one of the other CCNE electrodes, giving a total of three purely capacitive difference signals. The raw waveforms for both of the measurement methods are very similar in nature for most of the test subjects. The interbeat intervals from the CCNE and the resistive-contact electrodes look identical. This study has shown that we can reliably obtain ECG interbeat intervals through clothing using the new noncontact capacitively coupled electrodes. More work is required to study the fidelity of the waveforms to each other to determine if the waveform fidelity is sufficient for interpretive ECG analysis for clinical diagnosis.


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    Title :

    Evaluating a capacitively coupled, noncontact electrode for ECG monitoring


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Sensors ; 22 , 12 ; 18-22


    Publication date :

    2005


    Size :

    5 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 5 Quellen



    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




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