Battery-Less ECG Embedded in Smart Textiles

Abstract

The presented system design offers a wireless and smart way to realize long term ECG measurements in order to increase the patient's wearing comfort. The ECG electrodes are embedded in smart textiles providing reliable results in test measurements, comparable to typical medical adhesive electrodes. To further increase the comfort factor of the patients, a corded supply as well as space-consuming batteries are avoided. The device is completely powered by passive RFID. Our demonstration system is based on a MSP430 microcontroller, textile electrodes, ECG amplifier and analog signal processing. The circuit is implemented as minimalist design to meet the passive supply requirements: Given a reference value of 85 beats per minute, an average current consumption of $192\mu\mathrm{A}$ is achieved at a supply voltage of 3 V. This allows the patient a movement range of up to 2.7 m.