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Abstract:
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This work explains the implementation of a non-invasive system for cardiovascular monitoring based on the head-BCG's measurement. The ballistocardiogram (BCG) is a mechanical signal of cardiovascular origin, in which there is temporal information of the body's movements caused by the heart beating. During the last years there has been a development of measurement systems for cardiovascular monitoring implemented in domestic environments. Particularly, BCG has been obtained by using sensors integrated in weighting scales and, lately, accelerometers have been also used because of its reduced dimensions and weight. In this document it is reproduced one of these systems, which was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that allows measuring BCG on the head by using an accelerometer. This accelerometer is integrated in a wireless sensor node that sends data to a receiver node plugged into a PC through an USB connection. The obtained information will be displayed on a graphic interface, which was designed using LabView. The measure of this signal on the head can be an easy and affordable method to monitor cardiovascular parameters on pilots in a non-invasive way. Once this system was implemented, the obtained signals were compared to a signal obtained simultaneously by a scale in order to determinate for the first time which the similarities and differences are between both signals: the one acquired on the head with accelerometer and the BCG measured on the scale. |
