CRM01: PC based Cardio-Respiratory Monitor for Small Animals under Anesthetics

Student: Miguel Angel Fuentes

Supervisor: S Wilson

Category: Electrical Engineering Thesis Project

Research and veterinary personnel frequently find it necessary to anesthetize a wide variety of animals in order to perform routine examinations or treatment inside or outside the clinic. To reduce the risk to the animals that may be caused by the anesthetics, there needs to be monitoring of cardiovascular and respiratory data in the form of ECG and respiration rate.

There are many respiratory and ECG monitors currently available for clinical or field use, both for human and veterinary purposes. These devices are often bulky, expensive, and not very robust. Furthermore, there are only a few monitors that offer both ECG and respiratory monitoring in a single unit. Therefore a monitor that is capable of measuring ECG and respiratory rate on a single, fully portable, robust, and low cost device would be a great benefit to research and veterinary professionals.

CRM01 is a fully portable, low cost, and robust Cardio-Respiratory monitor designed for use in conjunction with a laptop or PC. The CRM01 system comprises of the ERM01 unit, the ERD01 opto-coupled communication dongle, and the CRM01 software. The ERM01 acquires the single lead ECG, and respiration signals, whist the ERD01 connects the ERM01 unit to the COM port of a PC or laptop for data transfer. The CRM01 software receives, displays, and stores the ECG and respiration signals on a laptop or PC.

For the purposes of this project, the CRM01 monitor and all its components has been designed and tested, and a prototype has been built. Preliminary Tests and results indicate that the CRM01 system functions to the specified requirements.

Poster Presentation (PDF)

Thesis Document (PDF)

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