Contactless ECGs
May 2014 - Aug 2014
For my first internship as a hardware engineering intern at McMaster University I oversaw the troubleshooting & analysis of capacitive electrocardiogram (ECG) electrode prototypes developed in parternership with Celestica Inc..
Stages of development for the prototype electrode from the earliest (left-most) to most recent (right-most)
Unlike traditional ECG electrodes that rely on a conductive gel to make resistive contact with the skin in order to detect the bioelectrical signals of the heart, our prototype sensors could detect heart signals through the fabric of a chest pocket or shirt sleeve.
The nature of the capacitive sensing used to accomplish this meant that the electrodes were very sensitive to noise, and as such my responsibilities were centered around patching missing traces on prototype boards and analyzing the performance (i.e. frequency response) of the devices using signal analyzers and other basic electrical measurement equipment.
My contributions were summarized in an engineering report.
Supervisor Comments: Christopher Williams has demonstrated proficiency in engineering, in particular, analyses of electronic circuits and testing of pre-production series of prototypes from Celestica Inc., Toronto. The results obtained from Christopher Williams become a base for several documents, including draft for application note and report to the company. Christopher Williams has accomplished the cycle from planning of activities, performing of works and documenting, up to the last point of “binding the folder”. This is exceptional, compared to other coop students, considering the short period in which Christopher Williams was with us.