Quality of One-channel Telemetric ECG Sensor Signal in Maximum Exercise Stress Tests

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the ECG signal, obtained from a telemetric body-sensor device during a maximum stress test on an ergometer. Twenty-three subjects, 13 males, were included in the study (20.56±1.19 years). Two different sensor positions were verified on each subject by the concurrent use of two ECG sensors. Each subject participated in four exercise stress tests: two on a treadmill and two on a cycle ergometer. In the first test, both sensors were attached to self-adhesive skin electrodes on the body, while in the second test the sensors were additionally fixed with self-adhesive tapes. The measurements were compared on both ergometers, in terms of the ECG sensors’ positions and the methods used for the sensors’ fixation. The results showed a significant difference in the running speed that provides an assessable ECG signal between the non-fixed and the fixed sensors at position left inferior (p = 0.000), as well as between the positions left inferior and left superior in the first (p = 0.019), and in the second test (p = 0.000) on the treadmill. On the cycle ergometer the differences were significant between the positions left inferior and left superior in the first (p = 0.000), and the second test (p = 0.003), and between the tests with fixed and non-fixed sensors in the position left superior (p = 0.011). The study confirms that ECG sensors could be used for maximal exercise stress tests in laboratories, especially on a cycle ergometer, and that they present a great potential for future use of ECG sensors during physical activity.