Low-Power Discreetly-Wearable Smart ECG Patch with On-Board Analytics

This paper introduces a self-contained wearable Smart ECG Patch (SEP) implemented on a flexible substrate. SEP is capable of acquiring ECG signals from the wearer using gold electrodes on its reverse surface, perform front-end processing using analog circuitry, digitize the signal and perform further processing to remove motion artifacts and noise. SEP also calculates heart rate and heart rate variability and sends these along with the digitized ECG signal to a host device via a secure Bluetooth link for display and further analysis. Further, SEP implements a series of power management techniques that progressively increase its operation time on a single button battery. The functionality and sensitivity of SEP to cardiac changes was verified by testing with archived ECG signals and during use on human subjects under appropriate IRB protocols. The human testing included cycling from rest to mild exercise and return to rest.