Biomedical Sensors

Electrocardiogram (ECG) Sensors/Circuit

Lecture 5
Prof. Amira Salah Ashour

13 March 2024

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Basic ECG System
❑ The ECG system consists mainly
from:
1) Electrodes:
oIt converts the physical signals
representing the electrical activity of
the heart into electrical voltage.
oThe voltage of the ECG signal ranges 1
mV to 5 mV.
oThe sensor pair is stuck on the right
arm (RA), left arm (LA) and right leg
(RL) of the subject.

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ECG System: Signal conditioning circuits
In ECG system: the Signal conditioning circuits are used to process the output
signal from sensors of a measurement system to be suitable for the next stage
of operation.
oIt includes:
✓ Signal amplification (opamp),
✓ Filtering (opamp),
✓ Interfacing with µP (ADC),
✓ Protection (Zener & photo isolation),
✓ Linearization,
✓ Current – voltage change circuits,
✓ resistance change circuits (Wheatstone bridge), and
✓ error compensation.
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ECG System: Protection Circuit
2) Protection circuit:
The protection is provided against high current and high voltage which may
damage the important components.
Examples of protection in mechatronics:
oSeries resistor to limit line current
oFuse to break if the current does exceed a safe level
oZener diode circuit to protect against high voltage and wrong polarity.
oOptoisolator to isolate circuits completely

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ECG System: Instrumentation Amplifier
3) Instrumentation Amplifier (IA):
oIt is used to condition (amplify) small signals in the presence of large
common-mode voltages and DC potentials.
oThe analog instrumentation amplifier is used to amplify the small ECG
voltage from electrodes.
o It is usually the main stage in an instrumentation system because of the very
small voltages of the ECG signal, which are received from the probes need to
be amplified significantly to be proceeding stages.
oThe instrumentation amplifier (IA) is a difference amplifier where the
difference between the two input terminals is amplified and the common
signals between the inputs ‘which represent a noise’ are rejected (Common
Mode Rejection (CMR)).
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ECG System: Right-leg Drive
Right Leg Drive:
oThe right leg drive circuit is used to reduce the interference from the
amplifier.
oIt is possible to amplify an ECG signal and create a DC common mode bias
electrically off the inputs of the differential amplifier.
oHowever, an extreme sensitivity to common mode interference may exist.
oThus, the right leg drive is used to invert and amplify the average common
mode signal back into the patient’s right leg.
oThis action cancels 50Hz/60 Hz noise from AC power and creates a cleaner
ECG output signal.
oThe more gain that can be used in the feedback loop also improves the
common mode rejection ratio.
oCanceling noise in this way relaxes the attenuation needed from the common
mode rejection of the instrumentation amplifier. 6
ECG System: Filters
3) Low pass filter or band pass filter:
oThe heart’s electrical signal is very small and unfortunately this can be
combined with other signals of similar frequency leading to ECG leads
artifact.
oThe low-pass filter or band-pass filter is used to remove the unwanted
signals, such as noise.
oSince the frequency range of ECG is 0.04HZ to 150 Hz, the low pass filter or
the band-pass filter is designed with a cut-off frequency of 150HZ or a
frequency band 0.04-150Hz, respectively.
4) Notch filter:
oIt is a band-reject filter that rejects signals of 60Hz/50Hz generated from the
electrical power lines in the room or that feeds the instruments.
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ECG System: Isolation amplifier
5) Isolation amplifier:
oInformation may be transmitted in analog form or may be converted into digital
before it is allowed to pass through the barrier.

oThe isolation amplifier is act as a protection amplifier that blocks unwanted

electrical activity and allows necessary activity to pass through.

oIt keeps the electrical and data input systems separate.

oIt is designed to transmit signals that fall within allowable parameters.

oThese amplifiers can also increase the amount of energy supplied to the data
input system as necessary.
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ECG system includes “6” ways to reduce Noise in ECG signal
• Right Leg Drive (feedback loop to decrease noise)

• Notch filter to reduce 50 Hz/60 Hz noise

• Lowpass/Bandpass filter to reduce noise below and above ECG bandwidth (0.04-150
Hz)

• Isolation amplifier

• Common Mode Rejection (differential Amplifier)

• Shielding of wires
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Block Diagram of ECG System: Detailed explanation

Lead Selector

Isolated Power Source

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 Conditioning Circuit part I
Protection Circuit

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• How do you protect your medical equipment from
excessive voltages and currents?

Three cascaded stages:

1- Neon Glow Lamps
2- Zener Diodes
3- Current-Limiting Diodes
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Protection device’s cascaded stages

Neon Glow Lamps Current-Limiting

Zener Diodes Diodes
(Protect from drop in
impedance ) (Protect from high voltage)
(Protect from high current)

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Protection Devices in ECGs: 1- Neon Glow Lamps

• Neon Glow Lamps are pair of electrodes mounted in a glass envelope filled with low pressured neon
gas or a mix of other inert gases. They become conducting and act as short circuit to protect the
amplifier.
• Neon Glow Lamps (protect from drop in impedance ‘as high impedance is required at the input of any
medical device to protect it from high current’)
• Normally impedance across the electrodes is very high (so lamps are not conductive), but when the
potential across the electrodes reaches to the ionization point of the gas, impedance suddenly drops
making the lamps conductive (they light up) creating a short circuit to ground, transferring excess energy safely
to the ground without damaging the amplifier. 14
Protection Devices in ECGs: 2- Zener Diodes

• Zener Diode: is a diode which allows current to flow in the forward direction in the same
manner as an ideal diode, but also permits it to flow in the reverse direction when the
voltage is above a certain value known as the breakdown voltage.

• In this configuration, when a larger potential than the breakdown voltage is applied to the
system (i.e. Defibrillator discharge) the zener diode allow the current to flow in reverse
direction and shunts it to the ground thus preventing any damage to the amplifier. 15
Protection Devices in ECGs: 3- Current-Limiting Diodes

• Current Limiting Diodes are electronic devices that limit current to a maximum specified
value for the device.
• These diodes consists of a n-channel JFET-transistor
• They act as a resistor as long as the current level remains below the limiting value.
• If current tends to rise above the limit (as in the case of a Defibrillator discharge), it will be
clamped and limited preventing any excess current reaching the amplifier thus protecting 16
it.
 Conditioning Circuit part II
1- Instrumentation Amplifier
2- Right leg drive & CMV

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ECG Pre-Amplifier
❑ Pre-Amplifier is a protecting amplifier from high voltage discharge, such as a
defibrillator dis-charge used on a patient.

❑ The pre-amplifier bioelectric differential amplifier, such as the instrumentation

amplifier, and the isolation amplifier for patient safety.

❑ The ECG pre-amplifier includes:

• High impedance input

• Lead selector switch

• 1mV calibration pulse source

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ECG Amplifier Circuit With Right Leg Driver

Make analysis for this circuit

design.

Right leg driver circuit is used in a feedback configuration to reduce noise and to
drive the noise on the patient to a lower level. 19
 Right leg drive

• In most ECG systems, the patient is not grounded at all.

• Instead, the right-leg electrode is connected to the output of an auxiliary op amp.
• The common-mode voltage on the body is sensed by the two averaging resistors Rg, inverted,
amplified, and fed back to the right leg.
• This negative feedback drives the common-mode voltage to a low value.
• The body’s displacement current flows not to ground but rather to the op-amp output circuit.
• This reduces the interference as far as the ECG amplifier is concerned and effectively grounds
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the patient.
 Right leg drive

• The circuit can also provide some electric safety.

• If an abnormally high voltage appears between the patient and ground, it may
result to electric leakage or other cause, the auxiliary op amp saturates.
• This effectively un-grounds the patient, because the amplifier can no longer drive
the right leg.
• The parallel resistances are between the patient and ground.
• They can be several kilo to mega-ohms in value—large enough to limit the
current.
• These resistances do not protect the patient, however, because 120 V on the patient would break down
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the op-amp transistors of the ECG amplifier, and large currents would flow to ground.
Any Question!!

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