HeartyPatch: an open-source ECG for heart rate tracking

13th October 2017

Protocentral

Enaie Azambuja

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Datasheet

Team Protocentral, an open source hardware firm from Bangalore, India, is raising crowdfunds to release its HeartyPatch device. The HeartyPatch is a single lead ECG patch that can track the heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) when stuck to the chest. Similar devices have been developed and commercialised previously, but the HeartyPatch provides open source access to the software running it, allowing anyone to implement it for unique use cases.

The HeartyPatch features Bluetooth connectivity built into the small device, so data can be easily transferred onto tablets and computers for in-depth analysis. The entire device was made out of low cost components, making it affordable in budget conscious applications.

It’s ready to go out of the box, so anyone can use it to track the heart rate and its variability. Not only is this useful for athletes, but cardiac arrhythmias may also be diagnosed with the help of this device.

Here are the four available modes that the devices can operate in:

Continuous ECG streaming mode displays live ECG recording from the chest. This works similar to a heart-rate monitor. Below is a screen capture of the device working in ECG mode.
Beat-to-beat mode can be displayed by flashing the on-board LED or you can stream live, instantaneous heart rate over BLE for immediate detection of changes in inter-beat intervals.
Arrhythmia detection mode runs the arrhythmia algorithm in real-time and detects events of AFIB.
Heart-rate variability mode is available when HeartyPatch is connected to the desktop app, which displays the cardio-tachogram (CTG), Poincaré plot (variance), and histogram of inter-beat intervals. Below is a plot of data taken from an ECG simulator that is physically connected to the HeartyPatch.