System for the acquisition and storage of ECG signals using a Raspberry Pi board

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of mortality worldwide and in Mexico, making it essential to develop early and accessible diagnostic tools. This work presents the development of a low-cost and high-performance system based on a Raspberry Pi 5 board. The proposed system uses an AD8232 sensor for signal acquisition and an Arduino UNO for analog-to-digital conversion, while the Raspberry Pi handles data processing and user interface management. A Python script was developed to display the ECG signal in real time, apply a band-pass filter (0.5–40 Hz) and a notch filter (60 Hz), and store the processed signal in CSV format for further analysis.

To validate the system’s performance, the obtained signals were compared with those generated by a professional ECG simulator (SKX-2000C) using the Pan-Tompkins algorithm for QRS complex detection. The results confirmed that the acquired signals exhibit the characteristic morphology of an ECG waveform and enable accurate detection of R peaks. The developed system provides an affordable, portable, and efficient solution for real-time ECG monitoring and data storage. Thanks to the computational power of the Raspberry Pi 5, the system shows potential for future expansion and integration with advanced signal analysis methods.