Ambulatory ECG monitoring device with ST-segment analysis

ECG is used on purpose to keep good health or monitor cardiac function of aged person as well as on purpose to diagnose the disease of heart patients. The ambulatory ECG monitoring system under guarantee of safety and accuracy is very efficient to prevent the progress of heart disease and sudden death. These systems can detect the temporary change of ECG that is very significant to diagnose heart disease such as myocardial ischemia, arrhythmia and cardiac infarction. In this paper, we describe the ECG signal analysis algorithm and measurement device for ECG monitoring. The authors designed a small-size portable ECG device that consisted of instrumentation amplifier, micro-controller, filter and RF module. The device measures ECG with four electrodes on the body and detects QRS complex and ST level change in real-time. Also it transmits the measured signal to the personal computer. The developed software for ECG analysis in personal computer has the function to detect the feature points and ST level change.