If you've been fascinated by heart-rate monitors or enjoy experimenting with instrumentation circuits then this next project by Instructables member birdyberth will be of interest. They have demonstrated how to measure one's heart rate using some home-made electrodes and external circuitry. The ECG signal from the body is fed into an INA128 instrumentation amplifer then again through an LM741 OPAMP.
This signal is then analysed by the Arduino, with heart rate data being displayed with an LCD module, and if you have a small portable digital oscillosopce, the ECG can be displayed by probing the output from the INA128. This is demonstrated in the following video:
If you decide to make your own version of this project, heed the warnings about not using mains power. Otherwise, visit the project Instructable to get started. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
When adding external hardware or devices to your next Arduino project, you'll need a protoshield to mount the external circuitry. In doing so, consider our range of ProtoShields. From the tiny LeoStick to the Mega range, we offer a complete range for you to work with.
