CHAPTER

Electrocardiograph
design lab
Chapter outline
22
Strategic planning.....................................................................................................545
Materials and methods...............................................................................................546
Procedure................................................................................................ 547
Results and analysis..................................................................................................547
Discussion.................................................................................................................548
Reference..................................................................................................................548

In this chapter, we describe the experimental steps for building an electrocardio-

graph, including consideration of the Nyquist sampling theorem. This lab is in-
tended to supplement the electrocardiograph material in Chapter 2 and the patient
and operator safety material in Chapter 1. It requires no specialized piece of equip-
ment, other than a National Instruments data acquisition device. It is helpful to use
a Fluke patient simulator for testing the circuit, before the circuit is connected to
a student.
Upon completion of this chapter, each student shall be able to:
1. Understand the foundation of data acquisition.
2. Monitor and calculate heart rate.
3. Practice patient isolation.

Strategic planning
During this experiment, each group of three students will build an electronic circuit
that will be used to measure the electrocardiogram (ECG) of one of the students.
This ECG will be filtered with frequency-selective and wavelet filters in Chapter 23.
In preparation for this lab, please analyze the circuit in Fig. 22.1. To minimize the
probability of short circuits as you build the circuit, spread the components out along
the breadboard.
This lab should take approximately 2 h to conduct.

Medical Device Technologies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-811984-6.00022-2 545

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546 CHAPTER 22  Electrocardiograph design lab

FIGURE 22.1
Electrocardiograph Design Lab test setup. This circuit was modified from Pico Technology's
circuit.
(Pico Technologies, 2010).

Materials and methods

This experiment requires the following electrical components:
• 2 9-V batteries with battery strap
• 1 100-Ω resistor
• 1 680-kΩ resistor
• 1 4.7-kΩ resistor
• 3 47-kΩ resistors
• 1 10-kΩ potentiometer
• 3 0.1-µF capacitors
• 2 1.0-µF capacitors
• 4 diodes
• 1 INA110 instrumentation amplifier
This experiment also requires these parts:
• 1 breadboard
• 1 black Plastics One 36671 1.5 mm (BLK) panel mount jack
• 1 red Plastics One 36671 1.5 mm (RED) panel mount jack
• 1 white Plastics One 36671 1.5 mm (WHT) panel mount jack
• 1 black DIN style ECG (BLK) lead wire
• 1 red DIN style ECG (RED) lead wire
• 1 white DIN style ECG (WHT) lead wire
• 3 ECG electrodes
• 1 laptop, running on battery
• 2 LabVIEW executable VIs for data acquisition and analysis (downloaded by
your instructor)
 Results and analysis 547

• 1 National Instruments NI myDAQ data acquisition device, with cable

• 1 screwdriver
• 1 Fluke patient simulator, optional
• jumper wire, as needed
At its core, a cardiograph consists of circuitry that monitors cardiac biopotentials
and then displays them on a strip chart (Fig. 22.1). We assemble the circuitry onto a
breadboard and then monitor heartbeats using a virtual strip chart.

Procedure
First, identify your parts. Remove the batteries from their straps, and connect the
complete circuit in Fig. 22.1. When you are finished, have your instructor check the
circuit by observation. If a Fluke patient simulator is available, connect the simulator
to the circuit and batteries, and verify that an ECG is observed.
The analog output voltage we obtain from the ECG circuit is digitized and dis-
played, using National Instruments’ data acquisition card, my-DAQ, and its Lab-
VIEW software. The card conducts antialiasing analog filtering and analog-to-digi-
tal conversion. The LabVIEW executable, CardiographLab.vi, that is loaded on the
laptop displays the digitized data in 1.5 s segments.
Connect the BLK panel mount jack, BLK lead wire, and ECG electrode to left
arm (LA); WHT panel mount jack, WHT lead wire, and electrode to right arm (RA);
and RED panel mount jack, RED lead wire, and electrode to left leg (LL) of your
test subject. Remember that we are assuming the body is purely resistive; so posi-
tion all electrodes on the edge of the thorax. Enter the desired sampling rate (de-
fault  =  1000  Hz), and run CardiographLab.vi by clicking the white arrow in the
upper left-hand corner. You may have to adjust the potentiometer with a screwdriver.
Each time this vi begins to run, it asks for the file name you wish to save. Stop
CardiographLab.vi with the STOP button. Rerun CardiographLab.vi several times
at lower sampling rates. You can review your saved files by running Read_Cardio-
graph_DataLab.vi. Use the graph palette beneath the waveform graph to zoom in
on data. You can also download a file you have read into this vi as an ASCII file, for
analysis in a program such as Matlab.
What is the minimum sampling rate at which you observe good resolution cardiac
beats? In your lab report, plot 3 continuous beats of a data file sampled at 1000 Hz
and a data file sampled at this minimum sampling rate. Within Read_Cardiograph_
DataLab.vi, you can copy/paste the waveform graph to MS Word. Just remember to
remove the Autoscale function from the x-axis, if you want to zoom/cut/paste 3 beats.
• What is the mean heart rate, based on the 3 beats, for each data file?
• What ECG lead is being measured?

Results and analysis

Answers to the questions in the preceding written procedure should be recorded in
the Results section of your lab report.
548 CHAPTER 22  Electrocardiograph design lab

Discussion
Answer the following questions in the Discussion section of your lab report:
• What was your process for determining the minimum sampling rate at which
you observe good resolution cardiac beats? Include intermediate calculations in
your description.
• How was patient safety practiced during this lab experiment?

Reference
Pico Technologies (2010). Electrocardiogram (ECG) project for DrDaq. Cambridgeshire,
UK: Pico Technologies.