Cardios MK — a compact ECG machine with the possibility of wireless transmission of cardiograms, which allows the device to be used outside medical institutions. The project is being implemented within the framework of the "Your Move" competition by Danila Gavrilov, a first-year undergraduate student at the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering of Novosibirsk State Technical University (NETI).
The machine will have several blocks: a block for enhancing biopotentials; a block for filtering high-frequency interference using a high-order low-pass filter; an ECG signal digitization unit; a sending unit with a microcontroller, which will allow using several data transmission options wirelessly: both through connections to Wi-Fi networks and using the GSM/GPRS module; the receiving and processing unit is a server that receives, processes and stores cardiograms, and the received cardiograms can also be displayed on the screen.
It is well known that electrocardiography is a key tool in the diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases, which are still the leading causes of human mortality worldwide. ECG analysis allows early detection of arrhythmias, coronary heart disease, blockages of the cardiac conduction system, congenital and acquired defects, cardiomyopathy, electrolyte disorders, pericarditis.
At the same time, traditional ECG machines are expensive and have impressive dimensions, which makes it difficult to use them outside of hospital facilities.
"The relevance of developing a compact ECG machine is determined by the fact that people with diseases of the cardiovascular system need constant monitoring at home," notes Danila Gavrilov, the developer of Cardios MK. — Professional athletes also need control of the work of the heart muscle to regulate loads. In addition, large machines are inconvenient in conditions of movement of medical personnel: ambulance crews, district therapists, military doctors."
As for analogues, today various mobile machines for ECG registration are on the market, there are also devices for long-term continuous monitoring (Holter monitoring), which are issued to the patient for a while by a medical institution. However, the cost of such machines is high, and they are not always available to the mass consumer.
The main advantages of the developed machine are compactness, accessibility, and ease of use. The capabilities of Cardios MK can be expanded by additional integration with various medical machines and software for data processing and analysis.
In the context of the relevance of telemedicine and remote health monitoring, the machine can be used to collect and transmit ECG data to special analyzing software, which, if deviations are detected, will send information to the doctor.
"The project covers many different areas and that's why it's so interesting," the developer notes. "Several working prototypes have been created and tested, and both the software and hardware parts of the device are being improved."
At the moment, the hardware of the prototype "Cardios MK" is being tested with a special testing machine "Phantom MS320", which generates ideal ECG signals.
In the illustrations: the machine and its author