Preksha Meditation & Human Health: 5.2 Heart Rate, Blood Pressure SPO2 and ECG

These components were estimated with the help of Iris - 50 Colour Multi-Para Monitor manufactured by Maestros Medline System Limited Navi Mumbai, India.

ECG measurement

The ECG is a medical device capable of recording the electrical activity of the heart from electrodes placed on the skin in specific locations. Each heart cycle consists of two phase depolarization, which represents the myocardial stimulation and repolarization, which represents the recovery phase. Both depolarization and repolarization are the electrical phenomena. These processes of depolarization and repolarization of myocardium of the heart generate electric potentials that are sensed by ECG electrodes placed on the skin's surface. These electrodes are typically attached to the patient's right arm, left arm and left leg. The signals are processed, amplified and presented as ECG waveform.

Technical specifications of the instrument

The BP is measured on the principle of oscillometry. The oscillations are the direct result of the occlusive cuff to the artery. This method allows blood pressure measurement in pre-operative, operative and poat-operative patients with muted Korotkoff sounds. A single cuff is applied to the patients arm, and the system inflates it to a level assumed to be greater than systolic pressure. The cuff is deflected gradually. A sensor then measures the tiny oscillations in the pressure of the cuff caused by the pulse.

• Systolic is taken to be when the pulsation start.
• Mean pressure is when they are maximal.
• Diastolic is when they disappears.

Pulse oximeter based on the principle of different absorption of Red (R) (600-700 nm) and Infrared (IR) (850-1000 nm) lights by two forms of Hemoglobin i.e. oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin in the blood.

Oxy-hemoglobin absorbs the infrared light and allow the red light to pass through. Deoxy-hemoglobin absorbs the red light and allow the infrared light to pass through.

IRIS-50 works on the transmission method for measurement, wherein the oximeter probe act as both receiver and transmitter i.e. there is an emitter on one side and a receiver on the other with the measuring site in between. After the transmitted red and infrared signals pass through the measuring site and are received at the photo detector, the R/IR ratio is calculated.