Single lead, 2-lead, 3 lead ECG devices, which one to choose to validate HRMs for sporting activities and clinical applications?

Last Updated on December 25, 2022 by pg@petergamma.org

The definition of 1,2,3 lead ECG devices are not always easy to understand for non-cardiologists as we are. If we have understood it right, a 3 lead-ECG device has 3 channels which are amplified and analyzed independently from each other.

• Scott Hardens Sound Card ECG is a single lead ECG device

• Bitalino ECG is a single lead ECG

• the iWorx 214 is a 2 lead ECG device

https://www.ebay.com/itm/303453638578?hash=item46a73f0fb2:g:KjYAAOSwNw1eJUjd&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4H7s7GvIQeeSM96MzUrqIZ%2BdQ%2B93E8ETSp9T6pYnMXpWQ934aPhgMKmiNukDkP5rcXhsu0tKX8M8RhiEQkx%2F%2FT033%2FlVpWnMrTOxZ668rfr7fcihZjChMbX6k5KQpaPtWJDkcVjs2WtmC5TCyE5OuWDF3vBeVNIuSsw2NgSj67B0uPPSfTgVKh1U36O%2B5eHs2qp2P%2By7txGPcq9JOJKBMWSVfcvvMD1PKg%2B2ta4COELlbeQyE4p0fRW1MXCyQQ1lI5DODM%2BVYI5aG4mWxwKXrW0epI5AidDG6yPhWEfbOu4E%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR660sM6oYQ

• there is an instruction for a 3 lead OpenBCI ECG device:

ECG from OpenBCI with 3 & 5 electrodes with up to 4 digital channels with noise reduction

• OpenBCI Cython modules have 8 channels which are amplified in parallel.

Validation papers for sports sensors with ECG devices as a reference device, in which the cardiologist Dr. Milind Y. Desai from Cleveland in Ohio was last-author use 3 lead ECG devices:

90.02 Research & medical grade ECG devices which some of those were used to study the accuracy of consumer grade HRMs in different papers

• We are physiologists who are interested in the effect of practicing meditation. We are not interested in sporting activities with fast movements. We therefore do not discuss in detail the Polar H10 chest strap, ECG movement and noise artifacts, since they do not matter for the analysis of trainings of practicing mediation. We do not have any plans to study runs on a threadmill which are faster than 15 km/h, or other fast sporting activities.
• 3 lead ECG devices similar to the iWORX TM-220 are used also for clinical applications, for instance for respiratory rate estimation and vital signs. Information about this can be found in our journal.

• An iWORX TA-220 with 3 lead ECG can be found on ebay:

https://www.ebay.ch/itm/185245471492

the iWORX TA-220 requires additionally the iWORX ECG toolbox which is sold separately. The iWORX ECG tooblox is not noise and motion artifact free, but has some feature to reduce noise and motion artifacts.

• There are also instructions available which show demos of 12 lead ECG devices which are used for sporting activities. Information about those can be found in our journal. 12 lead ECG devices deliver many information about heart function, but we do not know whether a 12 lead ECG does make any sense for validation studies of consumer grade sports sensors.