DAR ES SALAAM INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING IN ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION
NTA- LEVEL 8
EET-013-022
SENIOR PROJECT TWO

TITLE: THE DESIGN OF THE PORTABLE ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY DATA

LOGGER MACHINE

PROJECT TYPE: DESIGNING

NAME OF CANDIDATES: MASHIMBA SELIKO 100602G8417

EMMANUEL KAJANGE 100602G8401

MAY 2014
 DECLARATION
We Mashimba Seliko and Emmanuel Kajange declare to the best of our knowledge
that the project presented here are partial fulfillment of Bachelor of engineering in
electronics and Telecommunication course is our original work and has not been
copied from anywhere or presented elsewhere except where explicitly indicated
otherwise as all sources of knowledge have been acknowledged.

.. , . , ..
, Supervisor name and signature
Students name and signature
Date .
Date.

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 ABSTRACT
The electrocardiography (ECG) data logging system is intended for continuous and
long term monitoring of the heart rate variability (HRV). For this purpose the system
enables the acquisition of the cardiovascular electrical signal, by using ECG
electrodes attached to the human body which will extract the cardiovascular signal
and feed into the ECG unit for signal conditioning and processing.

In order to achieve this project an ECG unit was designed, which will have the
ability to process and condition the ECG signal from the electrodes and feed to the
microcontroller unit to format the signal to be displayed and to be stored. The ECG
display enables the real time waveform analysis and the logging unit keep the record
of the real time waveform which can be further analyzed by the health professional.

The system was designed successfully and implemented. The implemented prototype
did not operate as expected. This is due to failure of the ECG unit to amplify the raw
ECG signal to the desired PIC microcontroller operational voltage.

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 DEDICATION
We Seliko Mashimba and Emmanuel Kajange dedicate this project to our Parents
Mr. Daniel Elikana Mashimba and Mary Isack Njemu and Sefania Kajange and
Magreth Kajange respectively, for their unforgettable support during our studies ,
also to our Sisters Devotha ,Caphurein and Happiness for their great support and
encouragement in our study to this stage.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
In any success, the numbers of assistance are encountered, in our studying period we
have received a lot of supports from different people.

It is so difficult to mention all of them and their contributions but we will be guilt if
we wont mention the following

Dr. K.A Greyson and Dr.G. Rugumira lecturers at DIT for their tireless supervision
despite of being so busy with their duties but they have played their role to us
effectively in this project.

Eng. V. Mvanga bio medics engineer from the ministry of health and social welfare
for his contribution in the provision of data which has led to the good progress of this
project.

Cardiac institute for treatment and training from Muhimbili national hospital for their
data contribution.

Our fellow students for their supports and advices which has made this project to be
in a good as it is.

Our thanks to all Telecommunication staffs for their assistance and some knowledge
in which they wishes to share with us.

And those who are not mentioned but their contributions have been seen in this work
thanks to them all.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION.........I

ABSTRACT.II

DEDICATION....III

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...IV

TABLE OF CONTENTS......V

LIST OF FIGURES...X

LIST OF TABLES........XII

ABBREVIATIONS.....XIII

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 CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Information

Electrocardiography (ECG) machine is the device used to detect and interpret

the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time, as detected by
electrodes attached to the surface of the skin and recorded by a device. The
recording produced by this noninvasive procedure is termed an
electrocardiography (also ECG or EKG). An ECG is used to measure the rate
and regularity of heartbeats, as well as the size and position of the chambers,
the presence of any damage to the heart, and the effects of drugs or devices
used to regulate the heart, such as a pacemaker. Most ECGs are performed for
diagnostic or research purposes on human hearts, but may also be performed
on animals, usually for diagnosis of heart abnormalities or research. An ECG
produces a pattern reflecting the electrical activity of the heart and usually
requires a trained clinician to interpret it in the context of the signs and
symptoms the patient presents with. (Wikipedia, 2013). Modern ECG
machines are compatible with computer that contains the special software
such as MATLAB that can be used for ECG data analysis. Also there are
ECG machines that have been incorporated with printers for printing the ECG
results on the paper that can assist the clinician to identify the problem. Also
it can give information regarding the rhythm of the heart, the balance of salts
in the blood also it can identify if the heart has been damaged in a specific
area and hence it make easier for the medical officers to determine the
problem.
The activity of taking ECG signal in our country require a patient or a person
who perform clinic routine to have directly regular visit to medical laboratory
where the laboratory technician will lead the process and the printed results
are collected to doctor for interpretation. There is the need of the portable
ECG data logger machine which can be affordable by an individual. This will
enable a person to perform self-measurement while the device logs the
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 measured information in the desired memory device compatible to computer.
Then the stored data can be submitted to the hospital for clinician to interpret
the measured information.

i. ECG potentials are relatively easy to measure

ii. The ECG is an extremely useful indicator for both screening and
diagnosis.
iii. Certain abnormalities of the ECG are quite well defined and can be
readily identified.

1.2 Problem Statement

People faces difficulties on analyzing their health status especially heart

disorders due to remote location of health facilities and shortage of the health
professionals which lead to poor health services. Also the ratio of the health
facilities and health professions to the total population is poor. (NBS,
2009).There is shortage of the Electrocardiography (ECG) machines in many
hospitals due to the fact that these machines are so expensive. There are some
heart disorders which are difficult to identify in a short period of time and
require a person to be in the hospital for long time for measurement. The
patient is asked to keep a detailed diary of their daily activates and symptoms
so that a correlation can be made between these and the heartbeat signal. For
patients having more transient symptoms it is difficult to have regular
checkup for longtime due to the fact that the ECG machine is shared by many
people, where the measurement is performed for short interval of time for
each person.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1 Main objective

To design a portable electrocardiography (ECG) data logger machine.

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1.3.2 Specific objectives

To design a system which will have an ability to acquire and process

cardiovascular system electrical activity.

To design a system which will have the ability to store in a memory device
and display cardiovascular data in a suitable format that can be analyzed by
health professional.

1.4 Scope and Limitation

The scope of this project is to design the system that will have an ability to
acquire, process and store electrical activity of the heart.

1.5 Significance of the Project

Upon the completion of this project the following advantages will be obtained

(i) It will reduce the time for regular visiting to the medical laboratory for
checkup, since an individual will perform self-measurement while the
machine record the series of the measured information for further analysis
by a health professional.
(ii) It will help to reduce rate of deaths caused by the heart attacks. This is
because heart problems arise abruptly and there is an increase of number
of deaths due to heart problems.
(iii)It will enable a person to perform measurement for long time. Since the
device can be owned by an individual and is portable in such a way that
the measurement can even be taken at home.
(iv) Controlled measurement is possible. Controlled measurement is the
measurement performed under specific task assignment during
measurement and the health profession can analyze the measured
information with respect to task performed.

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 CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter explains about the existing systems and proposed system with
their pros, cons and limitations.

2.1 Existing System

2.1.1 ECG embedded with printout machine

This consists of an ECG machine embedded together with the printer. After
attaching electrodes to patient, the machine takes the reading and the result
printed to the graph paper. The printed results are taken to the health
profession for interpretation. This machine may have the display for
displaying real time data. These machines are present in some hospitals in our
country mainly referral hospitals and some private hospitals but rarely
available in some district hospitals and not available in local health centers.

Fig 2.1 Block diagram of the ECG with printout machine.

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2.1.2 Advantages of the ECG with printout machine
(i) Accuracy readings
Test is taken by the professional person and hence accurate
measurements are obtained.

2.1.3 Disadvantage of the ECG with printout machine

(i) Time consuming

Since it require a person to have regular visit to the laboratory so as to
take the measurement. Since the machine is shared by many people at
the hospital, it will -consume a lot of time in case there are many people
waiting for measurement service.
(ii) High cost
The existing system is costly that has limited availability especially in
local hospitals and difficult to be owned by an individual. The machines
are only available in few health facilities mainly referral hospitals,
special hospitals, regional hospitals, and some district hospitals but not
available health centers.
(iii) Result storage
Since results are in printed paper it requires thorough attention on
keeping records since it is easily destroyed and difficult to duplicate. It
is important to store ECG information in electronic way since it is not
easily to be destructed and can be stored for the long time. Also the
ECG information can be transmitted in electronic way for large distance
in a short time and safely electronically, since the results are required to
submitted to the health professions for analysis.

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 (iv) Portability
The machine is not portable hence measurements are taken at the
specific place. Since the machine is not portable a person is required
to take measurement under limited conditions. Person under
measurement is limited to perform any other activity during
measurement. But it is important in some cases to take measurement
while performing certain activity so as to make comparison of the
activity and the heart response.
(v) Impossible to perform controlled measurement
The existing ECG machine is not portable that a person cannot take
measurement while performing other tasks.

2.1.4 Portable ECG machine

There are also portable ECG machine incorporated with the display where by
a person can perform self-measurement.

2.1.5 Advantages of portable ECG machine

(i) The machine is portable that measurement can be even taken at home or
any place rather than medical laboratory.
(ii) Simple to use that any person can take measurement.

2.1.6 Disadvantages of portable ECG machine

(i) The machine has high cost to be afforded by a person with normal
income.
(ii) The machine is not compatible with the computer. It is important to have
a machine which is compatible with the computer, hence information can
be retrieved form and hence can be stored and processed.

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2.2 Proposed System

There is a clear need for equipment which can record the patient's heart
activity continuously over a longer period of time 24 hours or more to
accurately diagnose intermittent heart problems. Portable, easy-to-use ECG
equipment could monitor the patient, but at the same time allow them to live
a normal life and visit hospital less frequently. The proposed system will
enable any person to take measurement at any place, while the device keeps
log of the measured data for the desired time according to the memory device
used. The device can be submitted to the health profession for interpreting the
measured information. The figure below is the block diagram of the proposed
system.

2.2.1 Proposed system block description

The followings is the description of the blocks of the proposed system.

Fig 2.2 Electrocardiography (ECG) data logger block diagram for proposed
system

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2.2.2 Input

This receives signal from a person through electrodes attached on his/her body
and send them to the ECG system. ECG electrodes are available off-the-shelf
and are often made from Silver / Silver Chloride (Ag / AgCl). The Ag/Cl layer
is very unreactive yet still performs as a sufficiently good conductor. ECG
leads are seldom screened in order to reduce bulk and weight, which makes
them susceptible to receiving a lot of unwanted noise. The placement of the
electrodes depends upon the condition to be diagnosed. The simplest is the
Lead I ECG, where a single differential pair is placed on either side of the
body and an earth is placed elsewhere to help reduce the amount of air-borne
noise received. Another common form (upon which most multi-channel ECGs
are based) is Eindhovens Triangle, which uses three electrodes (+earth) in
differential pairs. Electrodes are placed on the left arm, right arm and left leg.
The electrode acts as the transducer where it converts chest vibrations due
heart rhythmic beating to the electrical signal. Proper placement of electrodes
will reduce error due to muscles artifacts and breathing, hence best results will
be obtained. The electrical signals are sent to the ECG machine through a
cable. Since the signal is very small in magnitude the cable should met the
specification on impedance and should be enclosed by the material that can
prevent external noise to interrupt.

The heart beat raw signal have characteristics as follows:

Voltage =10uV to 5mV with normal peak volt 1mV.

Bandwidth = 1 kHz max (D. Jennings, 1995)

2.2.3 ECG unit system

The ECG system receives the electrical signal from an input, then process and
conditions it so that the signal can be used for the further systems. Signal
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 processing and conditioning involve filtering of the signal to the desired
frequency by using appropriate filter and amplification of the signal to the
desired level using precision instrumentation amplifier. The instrumentation
amplifier have large amount of gain and very high common mode rejection
ration to eliminate errors.

2.2.4 Control unit

The control unit receives signal from the ECG system and process that signal
to the desired format that can be displayed and stored in logging system.
Appropriate program is written and uploaded to the microcontroller. The
program contains commands which will instruct the microcontroller the
formats to output to the display and the logger device.

2.2.5 Display

The unit is responsible for displaying the ECG waveforms from the control
unit. The display should have good resolution so that the waves can be visible
and analyzed.

2.2.6 Data logger

Data logger is the memory device that receives data from the control unit and
stores the measured data for specific period of time depending on the storage
capacity so that can -be used for further analysis. The storage unit can be
taken to the health profession for analysis.

2.2.7 Advantages of the proposed system

(i) Time saving

It reduce the time for regular visiting to the medical laboratory for
medical checkup since the device is portable a person can perform self-
measurement. The measurement can be taken in any place while a
person may be performing other activities while the device continues to

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 store the measured information. The device will be submitted to the
health profession where the data will be retrieved for analysis.

(ii) Portability
The system is portable that measurement can be taken easily in various
places such as home, working place without disturbance. The machine
portability will enable a person to take measurement at different place
from the medical laboratory and it is possible to perform controlled
measurement.
(iii) Easy to use
The machine is friendly use that any person performs measurement. It
does not require great knowledge to use the ECG machine.
(iv) Cost
The cost of this machine will be low compared to other ECG machine.

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