Design and Evaluation of a Wearable Single-Lead ECG for Continuous Monitoring

One of the most used techniques to track the heart activity is the electrocardiogram (ECG). Wearables represent an opportunity in this field because they can be easily integrated in telemedicine platforms. Several wearables able to perform the ECG are present on the market, however they present limitations. Two main limitations are the difficulty of integration into existing platforms and scarce reliability of wearables during dynamic activities. The work consisted in realizing a wearable single-lead ECG that could be seamlessly integrated into a previously existing telemedicine platform. The aim of the work was to test the device in different body locations and during different static and dynamic activities to identify preferred placements and modes of use. The device has been tested on a cohort of 10 people (6 men). Traces were evaluated in terms of the following parameters: heart rate (HR), P wave, QRS complex, ST segment, signal continuity, artifacts, and overall quality. Evaluations were performed by an expert cardiologist, who could express an evaluation between 0 and 5 for each trace (one per activity in each body location), with a sufficiency threshold equal to 3. In the case of the best body location, all parameters received evaluations around 3 except for signal continuity and P wave quality. In conclusion, the new device can detect the ECG signal with an acceptable quality for a subset of the parameters considered when placed in a defined body location.