Single input adaptive 50 Hz noise canceller from ECG signal

Detected bioelectrical signals are usually contaminated with background noise such as mains supply frequency (50Hz), due to the electrically powered surroundings, and the parasitic currents flowing through the patient´s body and the connecting cables. Many Authors have suggested an adaptive filters to suppress the 50Hz noise, but with applying the 50Hz as a reference signal together with the contaminated electrocardiogram (ECG) signal to the adaptive filter. This paper suggests a single input adaptive noise canceling (SIANC) scheme in which the adaptive filter has only one input namely the contaminated ECG signal. Using MATLAB simulink, it was possible to show that, in adaptive noise canceling, a reference input was not always necessary to be applied as a second input to the filter. After the application of the proposed scheme a difference of 64 dB was obtained between the 50Hz noise component and the maximum component of ECG.