A portable, low-power, wireless two-lead EKG system

Sensor devices ("motes") which integrate an embedded microprocessor, low-power radio and a limited amount of storage have the potential to significantly enhance the provision of emergency medical care. Wearable vital sign sensors can wirelessly monitor patient condition, alerting healthcare providers to changes in status while simultaneously delivering data to a backend archival system for longer-term storage. As part of the CodeBlue initiative at Harvard University, we previously developed a mote-based pulse oximetry module which gathers data from a noninvasive finger sensor and transmits it wirelessly to a base station. To expand the capabilities of the mote for healthcare applications we now introduce EKG on Mica2, the first custom-designed electrocardiograph sensor board to interface with this platform. We additionally present VitalEKG, a collection of software components which allow the capture and wireless transmission of heart activity traces. We present preliminary test results which validate our approach and suggest the feasibility of future enhancements.