Design of one-lead ECG data logger

Cardiovascular diseases are a serious problem in the world. Early diagnosis of heart disease leads to minimization of deaths. Electrocardiography (ECG) is often the only indicator of pathological heart process. The analysis of electrocardiogram patterns and cardiac frequency is used for detecting arrhythmias and discovering the nature of disease. A Holter monitor is used for continuously monitoring various electrical activity of the cardiovascular system for at least 24 hours. Arrhythmias are not always present during Holter monitoring. In many cases patients encounter heart problems (pain, sudden change of heart beat) but no longer have an ECG device and/or equipment for measurement. These drawbacks can be overcome using an ECG logger. This paper describes the design of one-lead ECG data logger. The designed ECG logger is a small and compact device without any cables - it is a miniature, hand-held device with fixed electrodes for fingers. Measured data are stored on built-in microSD memory card and then transferred to PC via USB connection.