Raphael writes in with a follow up to our post about an ECG kit – “I was feeling faint and had to wait two days for a doctors appointment, and I got a weird idea in my head that I needed to have a look at my heartbeat. Paranoiac imaginings were driving me crazy. What would the maker’s natural reaction be? To google search “make own EKG”. I was greeted with this wonderful website! Charmingly written and very informative, it can get you looking at a satisfying wiggly line that means you are indeed alive. Within a day! “ Link.
6 thoughts on “Homemade Electrocardiograph”
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Please heed his warning about the dangers of electrical currents. Most of the time those disclaimers are slapped in there, but I think this one is worth considering.
I had a similar idea a while back. For fun I was thinking of building a portable EKG out of a Palm Pilot. I was asking in a message board for some suggestions for the circuitry, and someone explained to me that the manufacturers of commercial EKGs and other electrical monitors are very careful about isolating circuits and spike protection. Even the small voltage & amps in battery power could potentially send the wrong pulse at the wrong time and do something bad.
Please be careful, and don’t end up in next year’s Darwin Awards.
In the June 2000 issue of Scientific American, Shawn Carlson shows a homemade ECG device in his article Home Is Where the ECG Is.
I made one yesterday. Check it out.
http://www.gthing.net/131233.html
We changed the design slightly, but are still fine tuning our results. I also found some different software to use that is a little more versitile.