Communications ECG Measurement on a Chair Without Conductive Contact

Abstract—For the purpose of long-term, everyday electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring, we present a convenient method of ECG measurement without direct conductive contact with the skin while subjects sat on a chair wearing normal clothes. Measurements were made using electrodes attached to the back of a chair, high-input-impedance amplifiers mounted on the electrodes, and a large ground-plane placed on the chair seat. ECGs were obtained by the presented method for several types of clothing and compared to ECGs obtained from conventional measurement using Ag–AgCl electrodes. Motion artifacts caused by usual desk works were investigated. This study shows the feasibility of the method for long-term, convenient, everyday use. Index Terms—Active electrode, ECG monitoring, high-input impedance, indirect-contact electrode. I