Mobile electrocardiogram monitoring system with cloud-based approach

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a heart related disease and is the top silent killer in worldwide. Frequent electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring for patients with CVD is vital to check if arrhythmia occurs. Though there are lots of commercialized portable ECG monitoring device available, many of them are dedicated to professional clinical staff with complex user interface, or only targeted to specific arrhythmia for home monitoring with lack of data management system. In this study, an in-house developed ECG monitoring device was integrated with an Android-based mobile application through Bluetooth wireless communication and implements Google Cloud Technology. The Android-based mobile app supports main features of real-time ECG graph display, automated location detector, data management system and simple arrhythmia detection. The ECG graph displays acquired ECG signal in real-time by ­in-house ECG acquisition unit through Bluetooth wireless communication and stored as text files in phone’s local memory. Firebase Authentication and Firebase Storage based on Google Cloud technology are implemented for data management system development. This allows users and administrators to upload or access data securely through online Google Cloud Platform. Three types of heart rhythm, namely normal sinus rhythm, bradycardia and tachycardia can be classified based on heart rate analysis. Smartphone’s location service is enabled to allow user shares their location with caretaker in emergency case. The final solution utilizes the Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology to facilitate heart disease management towards telemedicine applications.