ECG: A Chair Measures the Heart Muscle Tension

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary chair. Yet, this rather extraordinary piece of furniture contains plenty of electronics and, in this way, can be used to measure the heart activity of a person. 18/11/2009

Electrodes in the back of the chair
can measure the heart activity;
© Messe Düsseldorf

„Please take your shirt off!“ Patients who have to go to the ECG room all know this phrase. Usually, the physician sticks little sensors on the skin of the patient. The sensors measure the electrical activity of the heart muscle fibres which is then visualised on a screen. The procedure does not hurt at all, but it is inconvenient.

In future, a chair that can measure the heart muscle tension through the clothes could simplify matters. The consultation of the physician as well as the wiring might become unnecessary. “The electrodes are made of conductive textile and they are integrated into the back of the chair”, explains the graduate engineer Stephan Heuer of the Research Center for Information Technology in Karlsruhe at his booth at MEDICA MEDIA. The sensors work like little antennas. Via an electrical field, they register the heart activity of the patient as soon as he leans back, without restricting him.

Even though the chair is still part of a research project, there are already ideas circulating about its future usage. And those are not limited to a medical chair in a doctor’s practice. “Automobile manufacturers have already shown interest”, says Heuer. A car seat that can measure the ECG could reveal lots about the stress and health condition of the driver. In this respect, the technology could be used as an emergency alert – the drivers would only have to learn how to read the data, according to Heuer.

Who would like to take a close look at the promising chair: Hall 15, Stand A 12.

Simone Heimann
MEDICA.de