Real time access & control of ECG signals using lab view based web browser

ECG is an important biomedical parameter and is used clinically in diagnosing various diseases and conditions associated with the heart. The acquisition of an real time ECG signal requires an expensive CARDIART machine and experienced doctors who can interpret the output signal. However in developing and underdeveloped nations due to scarcity of resources and manpower, especially in rural areas, common people cannot make use of this technology. Thus deaths due to common heart problems are very frequent as they are not diagnosed in properly by the expert doctors. This paper mainly focuses on the development of an accurate, low cost and user friendly real time ECG acquisition using Virtual Instrumentation to know about general cardiac abnormalities and facilitate the improved medical treatment. It also presents the development of web browser based remote monitoring of an ECG system, where remote client's ECG inputs are analyzed and monitored in real time remotely. The remote clients experience the lab environment through multimedia techniques supported by the Web Publishing Tool in Virtual Instrumentation. The ECG so recorded can be studied by an expert sitting at a distance through Internet thereby enabling long distance diagnosis possible. In the absence of doctor, the program can itself give the report of the patient's condition. Most importantly it eliminates the human error which may be associated with a doctor in the ECG analysis, thus making medical diagnosis safer and robust.