Electrocardiographs (ECG) are medical devices that record the rhythm of the
heart, particularly abnormal rhythms caused by damage to the conductive tissue that
carries electrical signals, or abnormal rhythms caused by electrolyte imbalance.
ElectroCardioGraph Simulators (ECGS) are devices that generate electrical signals
that emulate human heart electrical signals so that the ECG recorders or monitors can
be tested for reliability and important diagnostic capabilities. Modern ECG
instruments with automatic wave recognition, measurement and interpretation would
need for testing, a carefully selected set of test signals.
The main objective of this project is to design a practical ECGS device which can be
used to perform the calibration and testing of ECG recorders. Various beat-rate or
ECG rhythm (60, 80, 120,150 and 180 bit/min) of normal ECG waveforms produced
by analog electronics simulate the standard 10 electrode ECG record. Additionally a
state of arrhythmia (random selection of preset ECG rhythm) is also incorporated in
order to simulate abnormal ECG rhythms, which in turn should be detected accurately
by the ECG recorder. The output of ECGS is monitored by an Atmel ATmega8515
microcontroller as far as the rhythm selection and the display of it, is concerned. An
audible signal triggered by the R wave is also produced for easy monitoring of the
pace. The produced ECG signals have been compared to human ECG recordings and
the device has been calibrated accordingly in various ECG rhythms. In conclusion this
ECGS device can be used as a testing device for 12 lead ECG recorders.