CARDIOSMART
INTELLIGENT CARDIOLOGY MONITORING SYSTEM
T.L.N.Bhargav
Vellore Institute Of Technology
Vellore,India
09894087539
tlnbbhargav@gmail.com
Abstract -In day to day life we come
across many cardiac patients who
suffer due to lack of instant medical
support. Here we come up with up
with a novel idea which equips patient
with an access to cardiologist through
wireless communication.
We reviewed a project which
automatically reads the ECG of a
patient and sends it to cardiologist
using GPRS and tacking him using
GPS in case of emergency. For this we
used a new portable terminal called
PAC.
Keywords: GPRS, GPS, ECG
(Electrocardiogram), PAC, packets,
protocol.
INTRODUCTION
Actual cardiology monitoring systems
are improved in terms of storage
capacity or autonomy. But new mobile
communication technology is opening
new horizons ideas that will improve the
quality of life of patients. Portability and
autonomy are concepts very close to
actual mobile communications. So the
junctions of this concept led to new
applications that could not be exploited
some months ago.
To our best knowledge, it is first time
that a portable terminal for the
P.Raghuveer
Vellore Institute Of Technology
Vellore,India
09843477780
raghuveer.patneedi@gmail.com
acquisition.Pre-processing and
transmission of cardiac signals (PAC)
allows the continuous detection and on-
line GPRS data transmission in
cardiology. Previous environment
researches have been oriented following
this perspective during last few years.
The first system product developed
allowed the patients to transmit their
ECG to a 24-hour duty medical centre.
This system also includes a QRS
detection algorithm for automatic
syncope detection without participation
of patient.
Next step consisted of new GSM
transmission possibilities. A prototype
including GSM data modem has been
developed and it has been proved that
concept was technically feasible.
Nevertheless, despite of the
technological application,
communication, infrastructure and
advanced hardware need for complex
high quality tele-medicine services, they
remain very expensive; GSM cost is
related with time of connection, leading
to a very expensive continuous
monitoring system. Also the power
consumption of a continuous GSM data
transmission leads to very low
autonomy.
The main conclusion of these
experiences was the necessity of joining
together portable equipment, continuous
monitoring system, power consumption,
cost of transmission and optimization of
the amount of data to be transmitted.
Our proposed solution to solve
transmission problem is the use of GPRS
network.GPRS (Global Packet Radio
Service) is a method of enhancing 2G
phones to enable to send or receive data
more rapidly. With GPRS connection,
the phone is “always on” and can
transfer data immediately at high speeds,
typically at 32-48 kbps.This novel
communication protocol is going to
allow a non expensive transmission and
cost related with amount of data
transmitted.
An additional improvement consists of
reducing the amount of data to be
transmitted, taking into account that the
majority of the monitored information is
a normal ECG signal. Nevertheless, the
interesting information for the specialist
is just the abnormal ECG signal. Instead
of doing the signal processing after the
transmission, it will be done before. If
we combine an intelligent detection
system with data compression of
information, the amount of data is not
only reduced but also optimized.
The main technical problems to be
solved are:
1. To guarantee the reliability of the
components and communication
channel, design, manufacturing and
validation of medical device must
comply with medical specifications.
2. To achieve electromagnetic
compatibility between signal
conditioning module and communication
module.
3. To obtain maximum autonomy (at
least 24-hour) minimizing power
consumption.
4. To reduce the manufacturing and
functioning cost at a minimum, making
new technology accessible to any social
level.
5. To achieve a minimum size and
weight to guarantee user’s acceptability.
In this paper the development of a new
terminal (PAC) with portability,
autonomy, signal acquisition and digital
processing, data compression and
encryption, and a GPRS link is
suggested.GPRS modem provides a data
channel and also GSM voice channel for
a direct communication between patient
and specialist. ECG information is
transmitted to a host computer with a
data base, so the specialist will diagnose
and propose action to patient .It also
allows a continuous care, even if the
patient is geographically away from the
cardiologist. It consists of integration of
three critical blocks in just one device.
1. Electrocardigraph (ECG)
2. Digital processing block
3. GPRS/GPS Modem
If the cardiologist needs the information,
he will connect to medical centre to
transmit the recorded ECG without the
attention of patient. Besides Automatic
pathology detection is included before
the transmission of the ECG pre
processor is to reduce the amount data
transmitted, instead of a continuous link
with the specialist in which the majority
of the information is useless, only
problematic ECG is transmitted.
Telemedical Network:
The basic scheme of cardiology network
is based on the PAC terminal, the host
centre and internet access.
The main components in the system are:
1. A portable data-acquisition console
(PAC) is connected to every patient
in the network and will transmit the
ECG.
2. A medical service provider (MSP)
uses another GPRS modem to allow
communication from several PAC’s
using only the telephony network to
prevent uncontrollable Internet
delays.
3. A communication protocol over
GPRS is used to transmit a
continuous ECG with a minimum
delay.
4. A GSM voice channel is used to
allow a doctor establish a direct call
with the patient.
5. An internet access to database host
center allows patient monitoring
from an authorized hospital or
private doctor.
The system will work as an on-line
mobile telemedical system, providing
autonomy to the patient and real-time
cardiac disease diagnosis.Besides, we
need an intelligent pathology system
which is capable of automatic detection
of cardiac abnormality. This helps the
patient not to worry about the
transmission of the ECG signal. Hence
the development of a system which has
the capability of automatic detection of
the heart malfunction and subsequent
transmission was developed.
From the functional point of view, PAC
has two modes of operation from the
hospital network:
1. Continuous mode which refers to
continuous transmission of ECG
signal to the host center.
2. Intelligent mode which refers to
automatic detection of abnormality
in heart activity and immediate
transmission of the signal.
3. Request mode where a hospital can
activate any PAC at any time to
receive the ECG of a patient.
A) Portable Data Acquisition Console
(PAC):
The PAC terminal must be a portable
equipment of small size to allow a 24
hour connection of patient with
following sub-systems:
1. ECG Conditioning Module:
Consisting of three or ten electrodes
attached to standard patches,
amplification and filtering stages.
Special instrumentation amplifiers are
chosen from previous designs.
2. Signal Processing Module: To
implement the whole digital processing
stage including data conversion, heart
rate detection, pattern recognition,
compression algorithm and signal
cryptography.
3. GPRS Module: Including a data and
voice channel for the direct
communication between the patient and
cardiology specialist.
4. GPS Module: To provide the exact
location of the patient.
5. Power Module: To supply power to
all modules with minimum energy
consumption.
B) Signal Processing Module:
As automatic detection of heart failures
is a necessity here, the digital processor
must implement several ECG pre
processing steps.
A QRS detector must be implemented
for the heart rate calculation. The noise
interference due to GPRS modem and
electronics must be taken into account.
A neural network for patterns
recognition techniques will classify the
different kind of heart diseases by
comparison with normal ECG.
As GPRS cost is related to the data
transferred, a compression algorithm
based on wavelets was used to reduce
the number of packets efficiently (upto
a ratio of 8:1). The last task is the
encryption of the ECG signal, to ensure
the privacy of this personal information.

In this proposal a 32-bit microcontroller

is integrated. This requires all the
electronic requirements of the
applications such as RAM, flash
memories, coprocessor Digital and
Analog I/O signals, low-power modes
etc.,
The wireless link is both voice and data
GPRS/GSM interface. The
communication is bi-directional: the
ECG can be transmitted to medical
center, and direct calls may be
established from the host. As the voice
interface of the modem is available, a
microphone and loud speaker has been C) Medical service Provider And Host
included. All the IC’s used have the Center:
possibility of a shut down mode, to save
battery. The communication system module is
used to connect the host system to one
PAC at a remote location. The database
module saves the patient records along
with their ECG’s and relative
information. The schema of the
database includes all the fields that
requires appropriate format. Its open
database architecture helps its
adaptation from large databases which
can use it as a telemedicinal gateway to
rural areas. This module feeds the
communication system and the PAC
modules with ECGS and patients’ data.
A direct and almost instant medical
support is provided, as a voice module
is also included in the GSM.
Additionally, the host computer
develops an internet site, so that the
information can be consulted through
hospitals or cardiologists even if they
are far away from the host computer.
This system including a portable
terminal and a host computer with
external access makes a complete
cardiology system.
D) GPRS Protocol:
In the GPRS protocol a communication
is established between the patient
portable terminal (PAC) and the
medical service provider (MSP). In the
high level there is an application layer
transparent to user. This application
depends on the medical information
requirements and data normalization,
maintaining a continuous data
transmission in a high quality.
The data packets sizes depend on the
mobile provider and GPRS technology
to guarantee an on-line communication,
based on protocol implementation
standards. The packets have errors
detection and correction algorithm
along each side of communication.
After using a data packets order number
and a user identifier, a sliding window
protocol allows information
recuperation. Once establishment phase
is finished, an oriented connection
protocol is used to needs of information
veraciously.
Prototype:
A prototype including GPRS/GPS data
modem has been developed and it has
been proved that concept is technically
feasible. This prototype have not still
included intelligent mode. From the
electronic point of view the most
complicated part is to integrate
electrocardiograph and the data modem.
Special care ha been taken in order to
minimize the electromagnetic
interference that a power RF stage can
exert on an ECG that amplifies signal in
range of mV. This goal has been
achieved by designing a special
shielding scheme to avoid ECG
distortion.
Board dimensions are 81*55 (in mm)
and the weight of the prototype is
approximately as a mobile phone. The
battery supply is 3.6V and the prototype
power consumption is 275-300mA
during packets transmission, descending
to 20-25mA in idle state. Each 15
seconds, a new data packet is built and
sent in real time, with 2 or 3 seconds
duration time.
fundamental heart failures have been
proposed with restrictions of space and
consumption. The module consists of
several subsystems. This prototype can
be used autonomously, with the modem
GPRS/GPS equipment. The main target
of the prototype consists of providing
the consumer with 24 hour medical
teleassistance.
To summarize, the
main innovation of the proposal is the
integration of a set of subsystems using
new technologies, such as GPRS data
transmission and GSM monitoring of
the current cardiology devices.
REFERENCES:
1) www.trimble.com
2) www.ieee.xplore.org

CONCLUSION: 3) www.sciencedirect.com
The main target of
this project is improving the quality of 4) www.scopus.com
life of cardiology patients, as they have
not to be confined to hospitals. They 5) www.garmin.com
will feel free to walk or even traveling
by keeping contact with their 6) www.medlineplus.gov
cardiologist .a direct and instant medical
support is provided, as a voice channel 7) www.webopedia.com
is included in the GPRS connection.
To the best of our 8) www.wikipedia.com
knowledge, there is no a similar
electronic device capable of using the 9)www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/
current mobile generation, although article
researches have designed and simulated
an integrated mobile telemedicine
system using the second generation of
wireless network.
The design and
realization of a novel intelligent
portable electrocardiograph device with
a GPRS/GPS link (PAC) for monitoring
the heart activity of patients and the
automatic detection and transmission of