Basics for application - positioning

Closing the belt

For now, this article will provide the basic information for the correct measurement.

The first task is to close the buckle of the belt. In order to prevent it from breaking, it is necessary to push the strap forward from the side into the slot on the vital monitor in a 90° position and then fold it back. This locks the belt.

Putting on the belt

When the belt is now in place, it is necessary to tighten the belt so that the ECG is stable. If the skin contact of the electrodes is not sufficient, the zero line in the ECG starts to move up and down. This instability could lead to measurement errors!

Positioning of the belt

Lastly, it is a matter of positioning the vital monitor so that the ECG is also suitable for accurate detection of the R-wave. The ECG itself represents the sequence of the individual phases of the current flow in the heart (from the sinus node via the atrium to the atrioventricular node and to the apex of the heart), which then triggers the contraction of the heart muscle to pump the blood into the blood vessels. Temporally, the moment of the R-wave is the most definite, since it is a definite peak (reversal point) rather than a wave that has a duration at its highest point.

When attaching the sensor, make sure that the LEDs on the front of the vital monitor are on the left side of the measuring person's body. Otherwise the ECG will be upside down (R-pinch pointing downwards)!

The last important point for a clean ECG lead is the position of the strap to the heart. The heart must be between the two electrodes, otherwise the R wave may be lower than the T wave. If the latter thereby converges relatively acutely, a misinterpretation (T is recognized as R - we are looking for an upward spike) could result.

This positioning can be checked again in the continuous ECG during the measurement!

Important: if a change of the position was necessary, always start the measurement again!

So nothing stands in the way of a clean measurement!