Wireless ECG Monitors

Student: William Brims

Supervisor: Adam Postula

Category: Engineering Thesis Project - Computer Systems

The overall objective of this project is to design and implement a prototype ECG system which replaces wired connections between sensor points and a central node with wireless links. Successful implementation of the final system would be of benefit to all involved in the use of electrocardiography as access to, and movement of, the patient would not be impeded by the physical constraints imposed by the cables. Most aspects of the design would also be portable to other sensor applications, making the work relevant to a vast range of systems where movement of sensors is desirable and constrained by hard-wired links.

The design and implementation of the wireless link and ECG sensor electronics to produce an ECG signal form the basis of the Wireless ECG Monitors. The Wireless Sensor Protocol (WSP) was hence produced to handle the wireless link. Analogue electronics are used to obtain the signal and to filter noise, while PC based software is used to display the final results.

The WSP for the ECG system consists of two Slave nodes and one Master node. The Slave node prototype consists of an ECG sensor (with associated electronics), PIC microcontroller and Nordic's nRF401 UHF transceiver, as 'patches' ordinarily placed on the patient. Altera’s Nios Softcore processor (16 bit design) with Nordic's nRF401 UHF transceiver forms the Master (base) node where data is collected and an ECG signal is calculated for displaying to the medical staff.

Thesis Document (PDF)