Wireless wearable solution for biomedical signals acquisition

• Grant number: 18/00486-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: December 01, 2019
• End date: May 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Biomedical Engineering - Bioengineering
• Principal Investigator: Houari Cobas Gomez
• Grantee: Houari Cobas Gomez
• CNAE: Fabricação de outros produtos têxteis não especificados anteriormente ; Fabricação de aparelhos eletromédicos e eletroterapêuticos e equipamentos de irradiação ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• Associated researchers: Idágene Aparecida Cestari ; Luciana Wasnievski da Silva de Luca Ramos ; Marcelo Mazzetto ; Mario Ricardo Gongora Rubio
• Associated scholarship(s): 20/03767-4 - Firmware development for embedded biomedical signal acquisition system control, BP.TT; 19/24354-2 - Virtual instrumentation system using LabView for reception, processing, visualization and storage of biopotentials for electrocardiograms., BP.TT; 19/24357-1 - Mobile App development dedicated to the wearable wireless solution for biomedical signals acquisition., BP.TT

Abstract

This project objective is the development of a wireless, wearable and low cost system for capturing surface bioelectric potential and its transmission. The best known technique for diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is the electrocardiogram (ECG), which provides a non-invasive record of the heat instantaneous electrical activity. Since all muscular and nerve activity is mediated by electrical potentials and the body conducts electricity, potential variations in the heart are conducted to the body surface where they can be picked up by electrodes connected to amplifiers and electronic filters. Those potentials can be presented in the form of an ECG signals, allowing the identification of changes in cardiac conduction and the diagnosis of diseases associated with these changes. For this reason it is carried out both in hospitals of high complexity and in health service centers. Currently the most used ECG system has 12 leads. However, due to its low spatial resolution, many types of diseases are not diagnosed. An alternative to this limitation is the use of a higher electrode surface density and the technique known as Body Surface Potential Mapping (BSPM) for more precise analyzes. This would allow an early diagnosis of CVDs, as well as decision making aid to perform medical procedures. This project explores paste technology applied to polymer substrates and/or fabrics for the construction and integration of flexible electrodes and conductors using screen printing. It also includes the development of an embedded data acquisition and wireless electronic communication system for the transmission of BSPM signals, in order to demonstrate the technical and economic feasibility of the complete solution. The developed system will turn into a wearable platform with the inclusion of other vital signs sensors. In Brazil, an average of 2 electrocardiograms is performed per city and per shift (Souza, et al., 2006). Considering 5,000 Brazilian cities, there are more than 3.6 million ECGs per year. 300,000 ECG records are performed at INCOR alone, per year, in outpatient or inpatient settings. It is hoped that the result of this work will contribute to the diffusion of the BSPM technique use in health centers with a huge impact on the cost reduction to the Unified Health System. This project will be carried out in collaboration with researchers from Micromanufacturing Laboratory at the Institute for Technological Research of the State of São Paulo (IPT), and also with researchers from Heart Institute Bioengineering Division at the University of Sao Paulo Medical School (Hospital das Clínicas). (AU)