A versatile temperature-stable ECG simulator

Abstract

The use of ECG recordings as a diagnostic tool relies heavily on the fidelity of the recorded signal. ECG signal synthesis is therefore vital in the testing and commissioning of ECG recording equipment. A number of signal generators have been previously presented in the literature, however the platforms they were developed on have become dated and more importantly their architectures do not provide a temperature-stable generator capable of operating at the necessary levels of precision in the voltage range required. The shortcomings of previous instruments are overcome here using a novel approach to the digital and analogue stages of the signal conditioning process. It offers significantly increased precision over the 100 μV–10 mV amplitude range, includes voltage offset correction and full temperature stability. The devices capability has been analysed and tested significantly more than any of its predecessors, and the results demonstrate it is a significant step forward in ECG signal synthesis.

Keywords:

• Biomedical measurements
• ECG instrument calibration
• Circuit synthesis
• Electrocardiography

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Microchip Technical Support and Curriculum Development groups in both the USA and the Republic of Ireland for their advice and support. The authors would also like to thank the Analog Devices European Linear Support Group and the Texas Instruments University Application Support Group.

Declaration of interest: Gavin Shorten and his work are supported by way of a scholarship from the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology.