On-Node Processing of ECG Signals

Optimizing performance of wireless sensor networks leads to trade-offs between local computation and communication. With the usage of on-node processing, the lifetime of the sensor nodes can be extended as raw data does not need to be sent out and logged by an external device. In this paper we present our approach for on-node processing of ECG signals to signal abnormal heart rate conditions. We develop an algorithm that is significantly simpler than traditional approaches but has similar quality and that can run on sensors with very limited resources. We give results of our approach when applied to reference sequences. We also estimate the amount of information that gets transmitted over the wireless link in case of applying the on-node processing algorithm and compare it with the remote logging case. We propose fusing movement information with ECG data to provide a more accurate assessment of the patients current health.