Capacitive driven-right-leg grounding in Indirect-contact ECG measurement

For the reduction of common-mode noise level in Indirect-contact ECG (IDC-ECG) measurement, a driven-right-leg grounding method was applied to the IDC-ECG. Because the IDC-ECG does not require any direct contact between the electrodes and the human skin, it is adequate for un-constraining long-term ECG measurement at home and its various applications are now under development. However, larger 60 Hz noise induced by power line appears in IDC-ECG than in conventional ECG, that is a restriction of IDC-ECG application. In this study, the driven-right-leg ground which has been used in conventional direct-contact ECG, was adapted to the IDC-ECG measurement, by feedback of the inversion of amplified common-mode noise to the body through the conductive textile laid on the chair seat. It was shown that the level of 60Hz power line noise was reduced to about -40 dB when the driven-right-leg gain was 1000.