A low-complexity ultra-low-power ECG compression and transmission scheme

A low-complexity electrocardiograph (ECG) signal compression and transmission scheme for use with ultra-low-power wireless ECG sensor nodes is proposed. The proposed scheme has features that reduce the amount of data transmission while minimizing the complexity of implementation. ECG compression ratios of the order of 10 can be achieved with minimal hardware and memory overhead. The scheme does not require embedded controllers or digital signal processors. A tolerance can be specified to control the fidelity of the compressed waveform. An efficient way of transmitting the compressed waveform using the least amount of bits is devised, considering the nature of the ECG waveform. This results in a reduction of the total number of transmitted bits to a minimum. As the RF energy transmitted is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted, this scheme can significantly reduce the energy consumption of a wireless ECG sensor node with little hardware overhead.