Contactless Detection of ECG Signals: Sensor Architecture and Simulation

The aim of this work is the development of a capacitive sensor coupling with the patient's body. The sensor, through a dedicated front-end circuit, detects changes of electric charge that are related to cardio muscle activity. This measurement principle also captures other signals, together and sometimes overlapped to those emitted from the heart; a dedicated electronic interface to make the necessary corrections to reduce the other spurious signal sources will be also described. The sensor will be integrated into a system that will transform the registered EGC-like signal in a practically useful ECG signal.