Reduction in the Motion Artifacts in Noncontact ECG Measurements Using a Novel Designed Electrode Structure

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology
• Signal Processing

Background:

• Noncontact electrocardiography (ECG) offers comfort for long-term monitoring.
• Motion artifacts are a major noise source in ECG, often requiring complex external sensors for adaptive noise reduction.
• Existing methods for motion artifact suppression can increase design complexity and cost.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel ECG electrode structure for simultaneous ECG and reference data acquisition.
• To effectively suppress motion artifacts in noncontact ECG without additional sensors.
• To enhance the signal quality and stability for wearable bioelectricity monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Designed a novel ECG electrode structure for simultaneous acquisition of ECG and reference signals.
• Implemented a multichannel signal acquisition circuit system integrated with the novel electrodes.
• Conducted experiments under normal walking conditions to evaluate performance.

Main Results:

• The proposed electrode design effectively suppresses motion artifacts in noncontact ECG acquisition.
• Signal quality remained stable during monitoring under walking conditions.
• Achieved a 14 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio in the processed ECG signal compared to the original signal with motion artifacts.

Conclusions:

• The novel ECG electrode structure provides an effective solution for motion artifact suppression in noncontact ECG.
• This approach enhances the feasibility of comfortable, long-term wearable ECG monitoring.
• The method offers improved signal quality without the need for external sensors, reducing complexity and cost.