Design of Hardware for an Electrocardiogram Analyzer

Abstract

<p>In these modern times there is a shortage of doctors in most countries around the globe with Canada having one of the worst shortages in relation to other developed Countries. This increases patient wait times, adds stress to doctors and lowers the quality of care. The ECG Analyzer is a device that integrates an ECG acquisition system with software to correctly classify and identify unhealthy ECG signals. By performing these tedious tasks for the doctor it will elevate some of the work load they have and allow them to see more patients. Design considerations that need to be taken into account when designing the hardware for ECG Analyzer are discussed including special requirements for making this a low cost system for use in third world countries. The hardware of the ECG analyzer involves three silver chloride electrodes attached to both wrists and right ankle of the patient from which the electrical activity of the heart is acquired, amplified, filtered and sent to my partner’s software for processing. The main thrust of this project is on the design of the hardware used to condition the signal for use with the software.</p>