A compact electric potential sensor array for the acquisition and reconstruction of the 7-lead electrocardiogram without electrical charge contact with the skin.

ABSTRACT

Conventional electrocardiogram (ECG) systems make use of separate electrical connections to the arms and legs. These use a 'long baseline' for the voltage reference potential which in the case of precordial ECG leads is provided using a Wilson central terminal (WCT) wiring configuration. The aims of this project were (a) to construct compact, non-invasive surface ECG sensor arrays which would operate without the need for a WCT reference, (b) to obtain high quality precordial ECGs showing fine differences in ECG detail between small adjacent areas of the chest and (c) to reconstruct, from a compact array of four sensors, ECGs which closely match to the conventional 7-lead ECG system, but without the need for multiple wires and long baselines. In this paper, we describe two sensor array configurations which have been constructed using electric potential sensors (EPSs). We show high quality precordial ECGs obtained from small areas of the surface of the chest and show the different angular vectors (leads) in the frontal cardiac plane constructed using signals from the array elements. We suggest that these ECG arrays, which are simple to apply, should prove to be a valuable tool in providing useful information about the state of the heart.