Development and validation of motion artefact rejection system (mars) for electrocardiography using novel skin-stretch estimation approach

Publication date: Available online 2 December 2019Source: Sensors and Actuators A: PhysicalAuthor(s): Anubha Kalra, Andrew LoweAbstractElectrocardiography (ECG) is widely used in clinical practice, for example to diagnose coronary artery disease or the cause of chest pain during a stress test, while the patient is running on a treadmill. However, artefacts due to subject’s movement are hard to identify and eliminate and can be easily mistaken for symptoms of arrhythmia, leading to misdiagnosis and false alarms. Skin stretch has been identified as a major source of motion artefacts in ECG signals.A Motion Artefact Rejection System (MARS) has been developed, where a polymer patch electrode with Young’s modulus lower than of skin was used to simultaneously measure ECG and skin stretch. Skin-stretch artefacts were induced in 7 subjects across the following age groups: 18–35 years (3 subjects), 36–55 years (2 subjects), and 56 years and above (2 subjects). The motion artefact measured using patch electrodes was used in advanced signals processing algorithms- Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Independent Component Analysis (ICA).A novel, state-of-the-art technique to identify and eliminate motion artefacts from ECG signals has been developed which is feasible for medical implementations.Graphical abstract
Source: Sensors and Actuators A: Physical - Category: Physics Source Type: research