Distributed source coding for mobile ECG signal monitoring

This paper describes the design and implementation of an ECG signal monitoring system that is compatible with existing mobile telecommunications networks. First, a two-dimensional ECG signal compression scheme is presented using the distributed source coding (DSC). Also proposed is a modified BCJR algorithm which further enhances the DSC decoding by exploiting the symbol-level a priori information. Finally, we implement a novel integrated system comprising a mobile telephone, with sensors for patient monitoring, and a remote receiver linked by cellular networks. The system, when fully developed, will become powerful aids to monitoring a patient for mobile telemedicine and for emergency situations.