A real time, wearable ECG and continous blood pressure monitoring system for first responders

The study of stress and fatigue among First Responders is a major step in mitigating this public health problem. Blood pressure, heart rate variability and fatigue related arrhythmia are three of the main “windows” to study stress and fatigue. In this paper we present a wearable medical device, capable of acquiring an electrocardiogram and estimating blood pressure in real time, through a pulse wave transit time approach. The system is based on an existent certified wearable medical device called “Vital Jacket” and is aimed to become a tool to allow cardiologists in studying stress and fatigue among first response professionals.