Microprocessor-based system for collection and storage of the equine vectorcardiogram.

The study involves the development and testing of a new, cost-effective system for recording and storing the electrocardiogram of a horse, which can then be analyzed using a vectorcardiogram, employing an 8080 microprocessor and an 8-bit multichannel analogue to digital converter.

Introduction

• The motivation of this research was to develop a cost-effective system for recording and storing equine cardiac activity that would make it easier for the subsequent vectorcardiographic analysis to be computerized.
• The researchers aimed to fulfill the basic requirements for digitizing analogue data. They studied previous systems and research in order to create the most effective system.

System Development

• The researchers designed a system using an 8080 microprocessor and an 8-bit multichannel analogue to digital converter. This converter is signal-level compatible with the laboratory recorder used in this study and can function as a remote terminal.
• The researchers used a double-drive task storage system for storing the data.
• They wrote programs in machine language to control the data acquisition procedure, the subsequent storage, and facilitate data transfer from the microprocessor to a central computing facility for analysis.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Data was collected accurately with 8-bit precision at a sampling rate of 2,702 samples per second per channel for 3 channels of data.
• The system’s frequency response before digitization was between 0.05 and 2,500 Hz. The results indicated that for accurate reproductions, the system’s frequency response before digitization should be at a minimum, direct current to 1,300 Hz, necessitating a sampling rate of at least 2,000 samples per second.