CN106963365B

CN106963365B - Patch including external floating high-pass filter and electrocardiogram patch including the same

Info

Publication number: CN106963365B
Application number: CN201611035440.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 严龙; 白敏建; 赵熙在
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-11-18
Filing date: 2016-11-18
Publication date: 2021-08-31
Anticipated expiration: 2036-11-18
Also published as: KR102519709B1; TWI711430B; KR20170058231A; TW201717846A; CN106963365A

Abstract

A patch including an external floating high pass filter and an Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch including the same are provided. An Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch, comprising: a first electrode; a second electrode; a high pass filter configured to receive a bias voltage and provide the bias voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode; and a signal processing unit configured to generate a bias voltage and provide the bias voltage to the high pass filter.

Description

Patch including external floating high-pass filter and electrocardiogram patch including the same

Cross reference to related applications

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/256,951 filed on 18/11/2015 and korean patent application No. 10-2016-0028210 filed on 9/3/2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Technical Field

Exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept relate to an Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch, and more particularly, to an ECG patch including two electrodes and a floating (floating) high pass filter.

Background

ECG monitoring is the process of recording the electrical activity of the heart over a period of time using electrodes placed on the person's torso. These electrodes detect subtle electrical changes in the human skin that result from cardiac depolarization (depolarize) during each heartbeat. An ECG patch placed near the heart allows for easy acquisition of ECG signals. Typically, an ECG patch includes ECG electrodes for detecting ECG signals and bias electrodes for providing bias voltages to the body of a person. The biasing electrodes are typically attached to the person's body along with the ECG electrodes.

Disclosure of Invention

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided an Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch including: a first electrode; a second electrode; a high pass filter configured to receive a bias voltage and provide the bias voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode; and a signal processing unit configured to generate a bias voltage and provide the bias voltage to the high pass filter.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided an Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch including: a first patch comprising a first electrode, a high pass filter and an ECG signal processing unit; a second patch comprising a second electrode and a battery; and a cable including a first wire for supplying a bias voltage from the first patch to the second electrode, a separate second wire for supplying an operating voltage to the second patch, and a third wire for supplying a ground voltage to the second patch.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided a data processing system including: an ECG patch comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, a high pass filter configured to generate a bias voltage to be provided to the first electrode and the second electrode, and a wireless transceiver; and a mobile communication device configured to communicate with the ECG patch.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided a data processing system including: an ECG patch comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, a high pass filter configured to generate a bias voltage to be provided to the first electrode and the second electrode, and a wireless transceiver; a healthcare (health care) server configured to receive ECG medical data of a person wearing the ECG patch; and a mobile computing device configured to receive the person's ECG medical data from the healthcare server.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, an ECG patch includes: a first electrode configured to detect a first ECG signal; a second electrode configured to detect a second ECG signal; a high-pass filter configured to perform high-pass filtering on the first ECG signal to produce a first high-pass filtered signal and to perform high-pass filtering on the second ECG signal to produce a second high-pass filtered signal; and a signal processing unit configured to generate an ECG output signal based on a difference between the first and second ECG signals, wherein the high pass filter is further configured to generate a first bias voltage based on the drive voltage and provide the bias voltage to the first electrode, and to generate a second bias voltage based on the drive voltage and provide the second bias voltage to the second electrode.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, an ECG patch includes: a first patch comprising a first electrode and an ECG sensor; a second patch including a second electrode; and a cable connected between the first patch and the second patch, wherein the ECG sensor is configured to receive the first high-pass filtered signal and the second high-pass filtered signal and amplify a voltage difference between the first high-pass filtered signal and the second high-pass filtered signal to generate an output voltage, wherein the first patch includes a high-pass filter configured to generate a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage using a driving voltage and to provide the first bias voltage to the first electrode and the second bias voltage to the second electrode.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided an electrocardiogram ECG patch including: a first electrode; a second electrode; a wire; and a high pass filter configured to generate a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage, the first bias voltage being applied to the first electrode via the transmission line and the second bias voltage being applied to the second electrode via the wire.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, there is provided an ECG patch including: a first electrode configured to detect a first ECG signal from a heart of a person; a second electrode configured to detect a second ECG signal from the heart of the person; a high-pass filter configured to perform high-pass filtering on the first ECG signal to produce a first high-pass filtered signal and to perform high-pass filtering on the second ECG signal to produce a second high-pass filtered signal; and an ECG processing unit including an ECG sensor configured to sense a difference between the first high-pass filtered signal and the second high-pass filtered signal and generate an ECG output signal corresponding to the sensing result, and a bias voltage generating circuit configured to provide a bias voltage to the high-pass filter.

Drawings

The above and other features of the present inventive concept will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wearable Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch including two ECG electrodes and a floating high pass filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1 is placed around a heart of a person, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a layout of a floating high pass filter and an ECG transmission line included in a first patch of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a layout of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) included in a first patch of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;

fig. 7 is a diagram of a data processing system including the ECG signal processing unit shown in fig. 6, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept; and

fig. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrams illustrating a data processing system including the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wearable Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch 100 including two ECG electrodes and a floating high pass filter according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the wearable ECG patch 100 shown in fig. 1 is placed around a heart of a person according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.

Referring to fig. 1, a wearable ECG patch 100 may include a first patch 110, a second patch 150, and a cable 170. The wearable ECG patch 100 may be referred to as an ECG patch or an ECG sensor patch.

ECG electrodes

112 and 152 are placed on

patches

110 and 150, respectively. Wearable ECG patch 100 does not require special ECG electrodes for body biasing to be implemented in either of

patches

110 and 150. Thus, wearable ECG patch 100 includes only two

ECG electrodes

112 and 152.

ECG electrodes

112 and 152 are ECG electrodes or ECG signal electrodes that are placed on the torso, and more specifically, around the heart of person 300.

In fig. 2, reference numeral 111 denotes an adhesive layer for fixing or attaching the first ECG electrodes 112 of the first patch 110 to the surface of the chest of the person around the heart, and reference numeral 151 denotes an adhesive layer for fixing or attaching the second ECG electrodes 152 of the second patch 150 to the surface of the chest of the person around the heart. Each of the

adhesive layers

111 and 151 may include a conductive paste, but is not limited thereto. Further,

reference numerals

111 and 151 may represent disposable ECG electrodes electrically connected to the

ECG electrodes

112 and 152, respectively.

Fig. 3 is a detailed block diagram of the wearable ECG patch 100 shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 3, V_ECGA voltage representing an ECG signal generated by the heartbeat of the person 300; z in electrode interface model IFM_elecRepresents the contact impedance between each modeled

ECG electrode

112 or 152 and the person 300; v_hcRepresents a voltage difference, e.g., a Direct Current (DC) component between

ECG electrodes

112 and 152; and deltaz represents the difference between the contact impedance of the first patch 110 and the contact impedance of the second patch 150. Δ Z is one of the factors that increase motion noise. Motion noise may increase due to motion of the person 300 or physical differences between the ECG electrodes 112 and 152 (e.g., differences between the thicknesses of the

adhesive layers

111 and 151,

adhesive layers

111 and 151 being present between the

respective ECG electrodes

112 and 152 and the torso of the person 300). Contact impedance Z_elecCan be determined by resistance (e.g., 51k Ω) and capacitance (e.g., 47nF), and the voltage difference V_hcMay be 300mV, but these values are 51k Ω, 47nF and + -, respectively300mV is merely an example.

50/60Hz denotes the power noise generated from the Noise Source (NS), and I_cRepresenting the noise current generated from NS. For example, when a person 300 with a wearable ECG patch 100 placed around the heart on the body approaches NS (e.g., a fluorescent light or a measuring device) operating at a frequency of 50Hz or 60Hz, the power noise 50/60Hz and the noise current I_cMay affect the body of the person 300. F_cRepresents the capacitance between Ground (GND) and the body of person 300; VSS_PCBRepresents the ground (or the ground of a Printed Circuit Board (PCB)) of the ECG signal processing unit 120; and CC represents Ground (GND) and PCB ground VSS_PCBThe capacitance between them.

Referring to fig. 1-3, the first patch 110 includes a first ECG electrode 112, an ECG signal processing unit 120, a high pass filter 130, and transmission lines 122-1, 122-2, and L1.

The first ECG electrode 112 may detect a first ECG signal from the heart of the person 300. The high-pass filter 130 may perform high-pass filtering on the first ECG signal to produce a first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P.

The ECG signal processing unit 120 may include a plurality of pads (pads) 121-1, 121-2, 121-3, 121-4, and 121-5, an ECG sensor 123, a voltage regulator 125, a voltage divider 127, and a driver 129. The ECG signal processing unit 120 capable of processing the bio-signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N may be an ECG chip or a bio-processor.

The ECG sensor 123 may sense a difference between the first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P input through the first pad 121-1 and the second high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ N input through the second pad 121-2, and may generate and process an ECG output signal corresponding to a sensing result.

The voltage regulator 125 may receive the operating voltage VDD through the third pad 121-3, may adjust the operating voltage VDD, and may generate the operating voltage of the ECG sensor 123 included in the ECG signal processing unit 120. The operating voltage VDD is generated by the battery 154 embedded in the second patch 150 and may be supplied to the voltage regulator 125 through the second wire W2 and the third pad 121-3.

The voltage divider 127 may divide the voltage (e.g., VDD) that has been adjusted by the voltage regulator 125 to generate the driving voltage. The driving voltage may be VDD/2, but is not limited thereto. The driver 129 may drive the driving voltage VDD/2 to the high pass filter 130 through the fifth pad 121-5. Driver 129 may have a gain of 1 and may be implemented as a current driver, although the inventive concept is not limited to this example.

The high pass filter 130 may generate a first bias voltage and a second bias voltage using the driving voltage VDD/2, may apply the first bias voltage to the torso of the person 300 through the third transmission line L1 and the first ECG electrode 112, and may apply the second bias voltage to the torso of the person 300 through the first lead W1 and the second ECG electrode 152. The level of the first bias voltage may be the same as the level of the second bias voltage, but the inventive concept is not limited to this example. The levels of the first and second bias voltages may be determined by the drive voltage (e.g., VDD/2) output from driver 129 when

ECG electrodes

112 and 152 are attached to the torso of person 300.

Thus, first ECG electrode 112 may apply a first bias voltage to the torso of person 300 at a time and detect a first ECG signal, while second ECG electrode 152 may apply a second bias voltage to the torso of person 300 at a time and detect a second ECG signal. The two times may be the same, substantially the same, or different from each other.

Since the driving voltage VDD/2 is applied to the high pass filter 130, the high pass filter 130 may be implemented as a floating high pass filter. The high pass filter 130 may include a plurality of

capacitors

132 and 135 and a plurality of

resistors

131, 133, 134 and 136. Although in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 the high pass filter 130 is placed outside the ECG signal processing unit 120, the high pass filter 130 may be integrated into the ECG signal processing unit 120 or placed within the ECG signal processing unit 120.

The first capacitor 132 is connected between the third transmission line L1 and the first transmission line 122-1. The second capacitor 135 is connected between the first conductor W1 and the second transmission line 122-2. The first transmission line 122-1 is connected to the first pad 121-1. The second transmission line 122-2 is connected to the second pad 121-2.

The first resistor 131 is connected between the third transmission line L1 and a node ND connected to the fifth pad 121-5. The second resistor 133 is connected between the first transmission line 122-1 and the node ND. The third resistor 134 is connected between the node ND and the second transmission line 122-2. The fourth resistor 136 is connected between the node ND and the first conductor W1.

The

capacitors

132 and 135 may have the same capacitance C, and the

resistors

131, 133, 134, and 136 may have the same resistance R. However, resistors 131 and 136 may have a resistance of R1, while

resistors

133 and 134 may have a resistance of R2. In this case, the resistance R1 may be different from the resistance R2. Each of the

resistors

131, 133, 134, and 136 may be a passive or active resistive element. Each of the

capacitors

132 and 135 may be a switched capacitor.

Common mode DC gain G of high pass filter 130_CM,DCMay be 1. For example, when R1R 2, the cut-off frequency f of the high-pass filter 130 is set to_HPf,-3dBIs 1/2 pi RC, and the differential input impedance Z_in,DiffApproximately R.

When the

ECG electrodes

112 and 152 are attached to the body of the person 300 around the heart and the drive voltage VDD/2 is applied to the high pass filter 130, the voltage of the first transmission line 122-1 is VDD/2+ G1-V_ECG/2+V _hc2 and the voltage of the second transmission line 122-2 is VDD/2-G1-V_ECG/2+V_hc/2, wherein G1 may be represented by a capacitor C, a resistor R2, and a voltage V_ECGThe gain determined by the frequency of (c). Although the formulas shown in FIG. 3 do not include G1, in practice, these formulas may include G1.

Thus, the differential DC input (e.g., V) is attenuated by the high pass filter 130_hc) And the attenuated differential DC input can be eliminated from the ECG sensor 123. The body of the person 300 is biased by two resistors 131 and 136 and a number of

ECG electrodes

112 and 152. In other words, the ECG patch 100 does not include a separate bias electrode for exclusively supplying a bias voltage.

Ground for battery 154 and PCB ground VSS_PCBMay pass through the third wire W3 and the fourth pad121-4 are connected to each other.

The second patch 150 may include a second electrode 152 and a battery 154. The second ECG signal detected by the second electrode 152 is sent to the high pass filter 130 via the first lead W1. The high-pass filter 130 performs high-pass filtering on the second ECG signal to output a second high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ N. The second high pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ N may be sent to the ECG sensor 123 through the second transmission line 122-2 and the second pad 121-2.

The cable 170 may include: a first wire W1 for transmitting a second ECG signal detected by the second ECG electrode 152 placed in the second patch 150 to the first patch 110, a second wire W2 for transmitting an operating voltage VDD to the first patch 110, and a third wire W3 for transmitting a ground voltage to the first patch 110. The cable 170 may be a shielded cable.

Fig. 4 is a layout schematic diagram of a floating high pass filter 130 and an ECG transmission line included in the first patch 110 of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to fig. 4, when the ECG patch 100 is implemented in a PCB including a plurality of layers of layer 1 to layer 6, the ECG signal processing unit 120 may be disposed at the first layer (layer 1) and the high-pass filter 130 may be disposed at the sixth layer (layer 6), but the inventive concept is not limited to the current embodiment.

A first electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit 140 may be placed between the

electrodes

112 and 152 and the high pass filter 130. The high pass filter 130 may be placed as close as possible to the ECG sensor 123. A transmission line for supplying the ground voltage VSS may be placed at the fifth layer (layer 5).

ESD protection circuits

140 and 142, first transmission line 122-1 for transmitting first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P, and second transmission line 122-2 for transmitting second high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ N may be placed at the sixth layer (layer 6), but the inventive concept is not limited to the current embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a layout of PCBs included in the first patch 110 of the wearable ECG patch 100 shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to fig. 5, the transmission line for transmitting the first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P and the high-pass filter 130 are disposed at the sixth layer (layer 6), and the transmission line 210 for transmitting the ground voltage, which is disposed at the fifth layer (layer 5), may have the following structure: this structure shields the transmission line for transmitting the first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P to prevent coupling noise between the digital line 230 placed at the fourth layer (layer 4) and the transmission line for transmitting the first high-pass filtered ECG signal ECG _ P placed at the sixth layer (layer 6). In addition, the shielding structure 220 or the shielding layer 220 may be placed between the digit line 230 and the high pass filter 130 to prevent coupling noise between the digit line 230 and the high pass filter 130.

Fig. 6 is a detailed block diagram of the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to fig. 1, 2, 3, and 6, the ECG processing unit 120-1 may include an ECG sensor 123, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC)410, a Central Processing Unit (CPU)420, a memory controller 430, an internal memory device 435, a security circuit 440, and a wireless transceiver 450. Referring to fig. 1, 3 and 6, the ECG patch may include a memory device 460 and a sensor 470.

Referring to fig. 3 and 6, the ECG sensor 123 may receive the first and second high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N, process (or amplify) a voltage difference between the first and second high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N, and generate an ECG output corresponding to the processing (or amplification) result.

The ADC 410 may convert the ECG output to an ECG digital signal and output the ECG digital signal to the CPU 420. The CPU420 may use the ECG digital signals to analyze the human heart rhythm. The CPU420 may use the ECG digital signals to detect, predict or analyze Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in a person. For example, the CPU420 may use the ECG digital signals to detect, predict, or analyze cardiac arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillation and/or ventricular tachycardia.

Under the control of CPU420, memory controller 430 may send data related to high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N to internal memory device 435 and/or memory device 460 and receive data related to high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N from internal memory device 435 and/or memory device 460.

Internal memory device 435 may be, but is not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), or Static RAM (SRAM). The memory device 460 may store a boot image for booting the ECG patch 100 and an application program to be executed by the CPU 420. The memory device 460 may include volatile memory and/or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may be, but is not limited to, RAM, DRAM, or SRAM. The nonvolatile memory may be an electrically erasable programmable rom (eeprom), a NAND type flash memory, a NOR type flash memory, a Magnetic Ram (MRAM), a spin transfer torque MRAM, a ferroelectric ram (feram), a phase change ram (pram), a resistive ram (rram), a holographic memory, a molecular electronic memory device, or an insulator resistance change memory, but is not limited thereto.

Internal memory device 435 and/or memory device 460 may store information about a person, such as a patient (e.g., patient data) and/or data related to the high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N under the control of memory controller 430. For example, the data may include high pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N, data related to heart rate, data related to arrhythmia, data related to ventricular fibrillation (e.g., a history of ventricular fibrillation and a history of defibrillation), and/or sensed data produced by sensor 470. For example, data may be encoded and decoded by the security circuit 440.

The security circuit 440 may encode data output from the CPU420 and related to the heart rhythm into secure data and output the encoded secure data to the wireless transceiver 450. In addition, the security circuit 440 may decode data transmitted from the wireless transceiver 450 and transmit the decoded data to the CPU 420. For example, the security circuit 440 may be configured with (e.g., programmed with) encryption and decryption codes.

Under control of the CPU 440, the wireless transceiver 450 may transmit the encoded security data output from the security circuit 440 to an external internet of things (IoT) device 550 (e.g., a wireless communication device, a smart watch, a smartphone, a tablet Personal Computer (PC), a wearable computer, a mobile internet device, etc.). The ECG processing unit 120-1 may use communication circuitry, e.g., a wireless transceiver 450, for connecting to the external IoT device 500. For example, the ECG processing unit 120-1 can determine to which external smart device the communication circuit is connected.

The wireless transceiver 450 may transmit data (e.g., security data or biometric data) related to the high-pass filtered ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N to the external IoT device 500 through a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless LAN (wlan), such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), such as bluetooth, a wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB), a Zigbee (Zigbee) connection, a Near Field Communication (NFC) connection, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) connection, or a mobile cellular network. For example, the mobile communication network may be a third generation (3G) mobile communication network, a fourth generation (4G) mobile communication network or a long term evolution mobile communication network (LTE)^TM). For example, the wireless transceiver 450 may include a transceiver and an antenna for modem communication. The bluetooth interface may support Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

Fig. 7 is a diagram of a data processing system including the ECG signal processing unit 120-1 shown in fig. 6 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to fig. 6 and 7, a user of the IoT device 500 may execute (e.g., select to use) an application installed in the IoT device 500 (S110).

Under control of an application executed by the CPU of the IoT device 500, the communication module (or wireless transceiver) of the IoT device 500 may transmit an information request to the ECG processing unit 120 or 120-1 (hereinafter, collectively referred to as 120) (S120). The CPU420 of the ECG processing unit 120, for example, the bio processor 120, may require authentication by performing an information request via the wireless transceiver 450 (S130).

After authentication is complete, the CPU420 may read the patient information and the biometric information from the

memory device

435 or 460 using the memory controller 430 and transmit the patient information and the biometric information to the wireless transceiver 450 through the security circuit 440. The wireless transceiver 450 may transmit the patient information and the bio information to the IoT device 500 through the wireless network (S140).

The application executed by the CPU included in the IoT device 500 may display the patient information 520 and/or the biometric information 530 on the display device 510 of the IoT device 500 (S150). For example, the patient information 520 may include the patient's age 521, blood type 522, family physician (personal care physician) 523, and/or medical history 524. The biometric information 530 may include a heart rate 531 and an ECG waveform 532.

The user of the IoT device 500 may use the patient information 520 and/or the biological information 530 to determine the status of the patient to which the wearable ECG patch 100 is attached and perform appropriate medical treatment or emergency diagnosis on the patient according to the results of the determination.

Fig. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrams illustrating a data processing system including the wearable ECG patch shown in fig. 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept. Referring to FIG. 8, a data processing system 800A may be used to provide telemedicine services. The data processing system 800A can include the wearable ECG patch 100 and a first medical server (healthcare server) 820 that can communicate with the wearable ECG patch 100 over a wireless network 810 (e.g., the internet or Wi-Fi).

According to one example, the data processing system 800A can also include a second medical server (healthcare server) 850 that can communicate with the wearable ECG patch 100 and/or the first medical server 820 over the wireless network 810. For example, a health insurance group and/or an insurance company may manage the second medical server 850 and the database 855.

The wireless transceiver 450 of the wearable ECG patch 100 can transmit data HDATA corresponding to the ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N. The application may store a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the first medical server 820 and/or a URL of the second medical server 850. Accordingly, wireless transceiver 100 of wearable ECG patch 450 may send data HDATA to first medical server 820(S801) and/or second medical server 850(S821) over network 810, under control of CPU420 or under control of an application program ("app") executed by CPU 420.

Data HDATA may include ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N, data generated based on ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N, and patient information. For example, the signal generated based on the ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N may include data on ventricular fibrillation, data on ventricular tachycardia, a heart rate, a cardiac arrhythmia, or a history of defibrillation of the patient, but is not limited thereto.

Wireless network 810 may transmit data HDATA to first medical server 820 and/or second medical server 850(S803 and/or S821). The first medical server 820 may store the data HDATA in the database 821 (S804), and transmit the data HDATA to the computing device 845 of the doctor working at the medical institution 840 through the network 830 (S805). For example, the physician's computing device 845 may be a PC or a tablet PC, but is not so limited. For example, a doctor may work in a medical facility, a public health care center, a clinic, a hospital, or a rescue center.

The doctor can diagnose the state of the patient using the data HDATA displayed by the computing device 845 and input the diagnosis data into the computing device 845 (S807). The computing device 845 transmits the diagnostic data DDATA to the first medical server 820 through the network 830 (S809), and the first medical server 820 stores the diagnostic data DDATA in the database 821 (S804) and transmits the diagnostic data DDATA to the network 810 (S811). The network 810 may send the diagnostic data DDATA to the wearable ECG patch 100(S813) or the second medical server 850 (S821). The ECG patch 100 may store diagnostic data DDATA in

memory device

435 or 460. Second medical server 850 may store diagnostic data DDATA in database 855 (S823).

Each of the

servers

820 and 850 may store or analyze each of the data HDATA and DDATA in the

databases

821 and 855. In addition, each of the

servers

820 and 850 may transmit the analysis results to the

networks

810 and 830.

Referring to FIG. 9, data processing system 800B may be used to provide telemedicine services. Data processing system 800B may include wearable ECG patch 100, IoT device 801 (e.g., a smart watch or phone), and first medical server 820 that may communicate with IoT device 801 over wireless network 810. IoT device 801 may be the example IoT device 500 shown in fig. 6 and 7 and described with reference to fig. 6 and 7, but is not limited to such. Data processing system 800A of fig. 9 is similar in its structure and operation to data processing system 800B of fig. 8, except for IoT device 801 through which wearable ECG patch 100 sends data to wireless network 810 or receives data from wireless network 810.

The wearable ECG patch 100 may send data HDATA generated by the wearable ECG patch 100 to the IoT device 801 (S800). For example, the wearable ECG patch 100 may automatically send data HDATA to the IoT device 801 upon request of the IoT device 801 or when a cardiac dysfunction of the patient is detected (S800). IoT device 801 may transmit data HDATA to network 810(S801) and receive diagnostic data DDATA output from network 810 (S813). IoT device 801 may display diagnostic data DDATA on a display of IoT device 801. Thus, a user of IoT device 801 may use diagnostic data DDATA to provide appropriate medical care to a patient wearing wearable ECG patch 100 or to perform first aid on a patient wearing wearable ECG patch 100.

Referring to FIG. 10, a data processing system 900 may be used to provide remote medical services. The data processing system 900 can include a wearable ECG patch 100 and a mobile computing device 910 that can communicate with the wearable ECG patch 100 through a network 905. The data processing system 900 may also include a medical server (healthcare server) 915 that may communicate with the mobile computing device 910 over the network 912.

Under control of CPU420 or under control of an app executed by CPU420, wireless transceiver 450 of wearable ECG patch 100 may send data HDATA corresponding to ECG signals ECG _ P and ECG _ N to mobile computing device 910 over network 905 (S901).

For example, the mobile computing device 910 may be a smartphone, a tablet PC, a Minimally Invasive Device (MID), an IoT device, or an internet of everything (IoE) device, but is not limited thereto. The user of the mobile computing device 910 that may execute the app to be described with reference to fig. 10 may be a medical team, guardian, or passerby. The passerby can be a person who completes emergency training; however, the inventive concept is not limited thereto.

The app executed by the CPU of the mobile computing device 910 may be represented by icon(s), interface, etc. displayed on the display of the mobile computing device 910. Under control of the app, the mobile computing device 910 may transmit data HDATA to the medical server 915 through the network 912 (S903 and S905). The mobile computing device 910 stores the URL of the medical server 915 so that, under the control of the app, the mobile computing device 910 can transmit data HDATA to the medical server 915 corresponding to the URL (S903 and S905).

The medical server 915 may store the data HDATA in the database 917 (S906), and transmit the data HDATA to the computing device 925 of the doctor working at the medical institution 920 through the network 914.

The doctor can diagnose the state of the patient using the data HDATA displayed by the computing device 925 and input the diagnosis data into the computing device 925 (S907). The computing device 925 may transmit the diagnostic data DDATA to the medical server 915 through the network 914, and the medical server 915 may store the diagnostic data DDATA in the database 917 (S906) and transmit the diagnostic data DDATA to the mobile computing device 910 through the network 912 (S909 and S911). The mobile computing device 910 may display the doctor's diagnostic data DDATA on a display of the mobile computing device 910. Thus, a user of the mobile computing device 910 may use the diagnostic data DDATA to provide appropriate medical care to a patient wearing the wearable ECG patch 100 or to perform first aid on a patient wearing the wearable ECG patch 100.

As described above, according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept, the ECG patch includes two electrodes and a floating high pass filter, but does not include a bias electrode for applying a bias voltage to a human body. To generate the bias voltage, the ECG patch uses a high pass filter and applies the bias voltage to the human body through the ECG electrode. In other words, the form factor of the ECG patch is reduced in size since the ECG patch does not include biasing electrodes. Furthermore, since the ECG patch has a minimum number of electrodes, a contact area between the ECG patch and the skin is minimized, so that convenience of attachment/detachment of the ECG patch to/from the skin is improved, and an area of the skin affected by the attached electrodes is also minimized.

While the present inventive concept has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present inventive concept as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. An Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch comprising:

a first electrode;

a second electrode;

a high pass filter configured to receive a bias voltage and provide the bias voltage to the first electrode and the second electrode; and

and a signal processing unit configured to generate a bias voltage and supply the bias voltage to the high pass filter through a line connected between the high pass filter and the signal processing unit, wherein the line is connected to a first node of the high pass filter, the first node is directly connected between a first resistor and a second resistor, the first resistor is connected to a first transmission line for supplying the bias voltage to the first electrode, and the second resistor is connected to a wire for supplying the bias voltage to the second electrode.

2. The ECG patch of claim 1, wherein the signal processing unit comprises:

a voltage regulator configured to receive an operating voltage;

a voltage divider configured to divide a voltage that has been regulated by the voltage regulator to generate a bias voltage; and

a driver configured to drive the bias voltage to the high pass filter.

3. The ECG patch of claim 2, wherein the driver is a current driver.

4. The ECG patch of claim 2, wherein the operating voltage is provided from a battery to the voltage regulator.

5. The ECG patch of claim 1, wherein the high pass filter is a floating high pass filter.

6. An Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch comprising:

a first patch including a first electrode, a high pass filter, and an ECG signal processing unit, wherein the ECG signal processing unit generates a bias voltage and supplies the bias voltage to the high pass filter;

a second patch comprising a second electrode and a battery; and

a cable comprising a first conductor for providing a bias voltage from the first patch to the second electrode, a second conductor for providing an operating voltage to the second patch, and a third conductor for providing a ground voltage to the second patch, wherein the first conductor is directly connected to a pair of resistors included in the high pass filter, at least one resistor of the pair of resistors being directly connected to a node receiving the bias voltage from the ECG signal processing unit.

7. The ECG patch of claim 6, wherein the ECG signal processing unit comprises:

a voltage regulator configured to receive an operating voltage;

a driver configured to drive the bias voltage to the high pass filter.

8. The ECG patch of claim 6, wherein the high pass filter is configured to receive a bias voltage from the ECG signal processing unit, provide the bias voltage to the first electrode, and provide the bias voltage to the second electrode through the first wire.

9. The ECG patch of claim 6, wherein the high pass filter is configured to perform high pass filtering on a first ECG signal detected by the first electrode to produce a first high pass signal and to perform high pass filtering on a second ECG signal detected by the second electrode to produce a second high pass signal, and

wherein the ECG signal processing unit is configured to generate the ECG output signal based on a difference between the first high-pass filtered ECG signal and the second high-pass filtered ECG signal.

10. The ECG patch of claim 6, wherein the first patch comprises a printed circuit board having a plurality of layers, and wherein the ECG signal processing unit is disposed at a first layer of the plurality of layers and the high pass filter is disposed at a last layer of the plurality of layers.

11. The ECG patch of claim 10, wherein the ECG signal processing unit and the high pass filter are disposed opposite each other.

12. The ECG patch of claim 10, wherein the transmission line for transmitting the ground voltage is configured to shield the transmission line for transmitting the first high-pass filtered signal.

13. The ECG patch of claim 12, wherein the shielding layer is disposed between the high pass filter and the signal lines of the ECG signal processing unit.

14. An Electrocardiogram (ECG) patch comprising:

a first electrode configured to detect a first ECG signal;

a second electrode configured to detect a second ECG signal;

a high-pass filter configured to perform high-pass filtering on the first ECG signal to produce a first high-pass filtered signal and to perform high-pass filtering on the second ECG signal to produce a second high-pass filtered signal; and

a signal processing unit configured to generate an ECG output signal based on a difference between the first ECG signal and the second ECG signal,

wherein the high pass filter is further configured to generate a first bias voltage based on the driving voltage received from the signal processing unit and to provide the first bias voltage to the first electrode, and to generate a second bias voltage based on the driving voltage and to provide the second bias voltage to the second electrode,

wherein the signal processing unit is connected to a first node of the high pass filter, the first node being electrically connected to a first transmission line for providing a first bias voltage to the first electrode and a first wire for providing a second bias voltage to the second electrode.

15. The ECG patch of claim 14, wherein the first bias voltage and the second bias voltage have the same level.

16. The ECG patch of claim 14, wherein the first ECG signal is detected when the first bias voltage is applied to the person's torso; and detecting a second ECG signal when a second bias voltage is applied to the person's torso.

17. The ECG patch of claim 14, wherein the high pass filter is a floating high pass filter.

18. The ECG patch of claim 14, wherein the high pass filter comprises:

a first capacitor connected between the first transmission line and the third transmission line, wherein the first transmission line is connected to the first pad of the signal processing unit;

a second capacitor connected between the first wire and the second transmission line, wherein the second capacitor is connected to the second pad of the signal processing unit;

a first resistor connected between the third transmission line and a first node connected to a fifth pad of the signal processing unit;

a second resistor connected between the first transmission line and a first node;

a third resistor connected between the first node and the second transmission line; and

and a fourth resistor connected between the first node and the first wire.

19. The ECG patch of claim 18, wherein the first capacitor and the second capacitor have the same capacitance as each other, and the first resistor through the fourth resistor have the same resistance as each other.

20. The ECG patch of claim 18, wherein the signal processing unit comprises:

a voltage regulator connected to a third pad of the signal processing unit and configured to receive the operating voltage via the third pad and regulate the operating voltage, wherein the third pad is connected to the second wire;

a voltage divider configured to divide a voltage that has been adjusted by the voltage regulator to generate a driving voltage; and

a driver configured to drive the driving voltage and supply the driving voltage to the high pass filter through the fifth pad.