A Low-Cost and Portable Electrocardiogram (ECG) Machine for Preventing Diagnosis

Abstract

Electrocardiogram (ECG) machines observe the electrical activity of the heart using electrodes on the skin surface and extract vital information about its functionality. Observations made through an ECG machine are usually recorded and is used to diagnose heart-related disorders. Typically, medically usable ECG machines are expensive thus the service is not easily affordable and accessible for the mass in developing countries like Bangladesh. This research designs a low-cost and portable ECG machine which could be a prototype, if successful in overcoming healthcare regulations, to enable easy observations variations of an Electrocardiogram among the mass. The entire system is comprised of an analog circuit and a processing unit. Primarily, the signal from the body is sensed using bio-electro-potential sensors or more widely known AgCl electrodes. Then an analog circuit retrieves and amplifies the signals received from the body to enable further processing. Moreover, a major component of the processing unit is to enable users to see the signal and allow the scope for a more precise output signal through further filtration both on the machine and over the web. The design used is effective, cheap, and easily doable so that it can be easily replicable.