Non-contact ECG Monitoring System for Detection of Atrial Fibrillation

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的目的是证明一种新型可穿戴生物电传感器可以增强房颤长期监测的有效性。房颤的公共卫生负担是巨大的，并且由于人口中老年人数量的增加，预计在接下来的几十年中将显著增加。经常需要进行长期心电图监测，以确定抗心律失常治疗的疗效。然而，目前采用的监测技术都是侵入性的，并且基于使用不适合长期监测的电阻接触电极。该计划将通过开发一种基于新型非接触式技术的长期心电图监测系统来解决当前监测技术的问题，该技术具有无需皮肤准备即可测量生物电势的革命性特性，不考虑皮肤电导率或毛发量，甚至通过织物。将进行两个系列的测试，以比较新的生物电极技术与传统的电极：第一个将涉及监测患者的心律失常的风险，第二个将量化生物电极的性能在各种受试者的走动运动。第一系列测试将在克里斯·温德姆博士和路易斯·康斯坦丁博士的主持下在新墨西哥州心脏研究所进行。第二系列试验将在QUASAR的实验室中在受控条件下进行。 拟议的研究将提供在不显著改变受试者生活方式的情况下收集长期EGG数据的可能性，并将成为心律失常专家，医院，诊所和其他监测设施的宝贵工具，使他们能够在患者的临床监测中变得更加有效和准确，并提高患者的依从性。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of the proposed research is to show that a new class of wearable bioelectric sensor can enhance the effectiveness of long-term monitoring of atrial fibrillation. The public health burden of atrial fibrillation is enormous and is expected to increase significantly in ensuing decades due to the increased number of elderly in the population. Long-term electrocardiographic monitoring is frequently required to determine the efficacy of antiarrhythmic therapies. However, the monitoring techniques currently employed are all invasive, and are based upon the use resistive contact electrodes that are ill-suited for long-term monitoring. This program will address issues with current monitoring techniques by developing a system for long-term electrocardiographic monitoring, based upon a novel non-contact technology, which has the revolutionary property of measuring bioelectric potentials without skin preparation, without regard to skin conductivity or amount of hair, and even through fabric. Two series of tests will be performed to compare the new bioelectrode technology with conventional electrodes: the first will involve monitoring of patients at risk of arrhythmias, and the second will quantify the bioelectrode's performance under various subject ambulatory motion. The first series of tests will be conducted at New Mexico Heart Institute under the auspices of Dr. Chris Wyndham and Dr. Luis Constantin. The second series of tests will be conducted in the laboratory at QUASAR under controlled conditions. The proposed research will offer the possibility of collecting long-term EGG data without significantly changing a subject's lifestyle, and will be a valuable tool for arrhythmia specialists, hospitals, clinics and other monitoring facilities by enabling them to become more efficient and accurate in the clinical monitoring of patients, with increased patient compliance.