The ECG SmartApp device is a low cost device to record, process and store ECG signals. It can be built easily (in less than 1 hour by following the Assembly Manual). The device is composed of a hardware board to acquire the ECG signals from the body and an Android App to record, process and store the signals.
By excluding the Smartphone and disposable parts (electrodes and batteries), the device whole cost is between 20 and 25 Euros (25-30 US dollars).
The device is intended only as a design research project and it is NOT a medical device so please read the Warnings before going on.
Complete description of the Android App for ECG recording is available in the User Manual.
Hardware
The ECG device can be built easily (in less than 1 hour) and only a very basic electronics skills are needed. The simple circuit design and layout are a good compromise for having both a low cost and good performance. The device is battery powered and consists of a front-end circuit (ECG module AD8232) to acquire the ECG signals through common electrodes and an Arduino board to digitalize the analog signal and transmit it to an Android smartphone via Bluetooth protocol.
The design is based on few boards to be connected together:
- ECG module AD8232 (Module Single-Lead, Heart Rate Monitor Front End)
- Arduino Nano board
- HC-05 (or HC-06) Bluetooth module
Software
The related App visualizes the ECG signal in real time and gives the possibility to filter, make measurements and store the signal in a file.
No software programming knowledge is required since all you need is to install the App by opening the apk file from an Android smartphone and to upload the provided Arduino sketch on the Arduino board (this can be done easily by using the Arduino Software IDE and one of the many tutorials available on the web).
