A Battery-Powered Digital Modem for Telephone Transmission of ECG Data

We present the design of a battery-powered digital modem for transmitting ECG signals. It operates from a 5-V battery supply, uses a coil or acoustic coupler for a telephone interface, and consumes only 30 mW during transmission. We show error rates comparable to regular stand-alone modems, well within the acceptable limit of 1 bit per 100 kbits transmitted at a transmission speed of 300 Bd.