ECG simulator with configurable skin-electrode impedance and artifacts emulation.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Signal Processing
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Electrocardiograms (ECG) are increasingly recorded using everyday objects like wearables and smart devices.
• Diverse applications include health monitoring, performance optimization, and authentication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement an innovative ECG simulator.
• To model dynamic skin-electrode interface properties and signal artifacts.
• To aid in the development and validation of ECG systems.

Main Methods:

• Developed an ECG simulator with adjustable skin-electrode impedance (1 nF-255 nF, 4 kΩ-996 kΩ).
• Incorporated emulation of time-dependent impedance, differential/common-mode interference, and lead-off events.
• Validated system functionality with a commercial ECG front-end, achieving <0.1 dB SNR degradation.

Main Results:

• Skin-electrode interface significantly impacts acquired ECG waveforms.
• Impedance imbalance, particularly resistive, can create artifacts mimicking arrhythmias.
• Demonstrated the simulator's utility in hardware/software ECG development and clinical training.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ECG simulator accurately models real-world signal acquisition challenges.
• It provides a valuable tool for recognizing and mitigating skin-electrode impedance artifacts.
• Enhances the reliability of ECG devices and diagnostic interpretation.