A microcomputer-based data acquisition system for ECG, body and ambient temperatures measurement during bathing
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Updated: Jul 28, 2026

Quantitative Autonomic Testing
Published on: July 19, 2011
Y Uokawa1, Y Yonezawa, W M Caldwell
1Dept. of Electronics Engineering, Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Japan.
Abstract:
A data acquisition system employing a low power 8 bit microcomputer has been developed for heart rate variability monitoring before, during and after bathing. The system consists of three integral chest electrodes, two temperature sensors, an instrumentation amplifier, a low power 8-bit single chip microcomputer (SMC) and a 4 MB compact flash memory (CFM). The ECG from the electrodes is converted to an 8-bit digital format at a 1 ms rate by an A/D converter in the SMC. Both signals from the body and ambient temperature sensors are converted to an 8-bit digital format every 1 second. These data are stored by the CFM. The system is powered by a rechargeable 3.6 V lithium battery. The 4 x 11 x 1 cm system is encapsulated in epoxy and silicone, yielding a total volume of 44 cc. The weight is 100 g.
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