PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
In-ear acquisition of physiological signals, such as electromyography (EMG), electrooculography (EOG), electroencephalography (EEG), and electrocardiography (ECG), is a promising approach to mobile health (mHealth) due to its non-invasive and user-friendly nature. By providing a convenient and comfortable means of physiological signal monitoring, in-ear signal acquisition could potentially increase patient compliance and engagement with mHealth applications. The development of reliable and comfortable soft dry in-ear electrode systems could, therefore, have significant implications for both mHealth and human-machine interface (HMI) applications. This research evaluates the quality of the ECG signal obtained with soft dry electrodes inserted in the ear canal. An earplug with six soft dry electrodes distributed around its perimeter was designed for this study, allowing for the analysis of the signal coming from each electrode independently with respect to a common reference placed at different positions on the body of the participants. An analysis of the signals in comparison with a reference signal measured on the upper right chest (RA) and lower left chest (LL) was performed. The results show three typical behaviors for the in-ear electrodes. Some electrodes have a high correlation with the reference signal directly after inserting the earplug, other electrodes need a settling time of typically 1-3 min, and finally, others never have a high correlation. The SoftPulseTM electrodes used in this research have been proven to be perfectly capable of measuring physiological signals, paving the way for their use in mHealth or HMI applications. The use of multiple electrodes distributed in the ear canal has the advantage of allowing a more reliable acquisition by intelligently selecting the signal acquisition locations or allowing a better spatial resolution for certain applications by processing these signals independently.
摘要：
生理信号的入耳式采集，如肌电图（EMG），眼电图（EOG），脑电图（EEG），心电图（ECG），由于其非侵入性和用户友好性，是一种有前途的移动健康（mHealth）方法。通过提供方便舒适的生理信号监测手段，入耳式信号采集可能会增加患者的依从性和对mHealth应用的参与度。开发可靠、舒适的软干耳内电极系统可以，因此,对mHealth和人机界面(HMI)应用都有重大影响。这项研究评估了插入耳道中的软干电极获得的ECG信号的质量。本研究设计了一个耳塞，其周边分布有六个软干电极，允许相对于放置在参与者身体上不同位置的公共参考独立地分析来自每个电极的信号。与在右上胸部(RA)和左下胸部(LL)上测量的参考信号相比,对信号进行分析。结果显示入耳式电极的三种典型行为。有些电极在插入耳塞后直接与参考信号有很高的相关性，其他电极需要的沉降时间通常为1-3分钟，最后，其他人从来没有很高的相关性。本研究中使用的SoftPulseTM电极已被证明完全能够测量生理信号，为它们在mHealth或HMI应用程序中的使用铺平了道路。使用分布在耳道中的多个电极具有以下优点:通过智能地选择信号采集位置来允许更可靠的采集,或者通过独立地处理这些信号来允许某些应用的更好的空间分辨率。
