Carolina NeuLog Electrocardiogram User Manual

NEULOG ELECTROCARDIOGRAM SENSOR GUIDE

Neulog electrocardiogram Sensor
NUL-218 Carolina # 369647

The NeuLog electrocardiogram sensor can be used for any science experiment or
activity that can utilize heartbeat data such as in the fields of: Biology, Physiology,
Human medicine, Psychology, etc.

An electrocardiogram is a very commonly used medical device which measures and
graphs the heart’s electrical activity. Every single heartbeat is a very complex event
which involves many anatomical locations undergoing changes in their electrical
charges. A depolarizing cascade event originates in the Sinoatrial Node, which is
often referred to as the natural pacemaker, and travels throughout the rest of the
heart.

The sensor comes pre-calibrated so you can start experimentation right out of the box
using any of the following guides.

Just a few of the thousands of possible experimental subjects that can be done with
the NUL-218 sensors are: electrical impulses, heart rate monitoring, human
physiology, muscle physiology, heart rate changes to stimuli, and many more.

The ECG sensor uses the following unit of measure:

 Arbitrary analog units (Arb): An arbitrary unit to demonstrate waves,

frequencies, and periods. Therefore what you will see on the Y-axis is
signal intensity, while the X-axis shows time.

Electrocardiograms:

The heart undergoes a very complex process of electrical activity; this is the basis for

how electrocardiograms work. As the heart’s muscles contract, the cells are

electrically depolarized which causes a cascade of depolarization to flow across the
heart – contracting the heart’s muscle fibers.

During a heartbeat a very complex series of events happens which begins with the
cells resting potential at roughly -90mV (millivolts). The hearts Sinoatrial Node begins
the cascade by depolarizing – creating an electrical current. The electrical signal

travels to the right atrium and almost immediately to the left atrium. Because the atria
and the ventricles are insulated from each other by a special type of cell which acts as
an electrical insulator, the signal is picked up in another cluster of cells called the
Atrioventricular Node located in the right atria. The signal is carried by a special type
of fibers - the Bundle of His into the ventricles. Purkinje Fibers rapidly spread the
electrical depolarization cascade throughout the ventricles. The entire event takes

some time to complete. The graph is a visual demonstration of the heart’s relative

charge at any given point during heartbeats.

The electrical current is measured on the skin using conducting leads and converted
into a graphic that is very standard and reproducible.

P: Contraction of atria
Q: Initial depolarization of the ventricle
R: Early depolarization of the ventricles
S: Late depolarization of the ventricles
T: Repolarization of the ventricles
U: Often hidden by the T wave – this wave has anunknown origin

This graph represents one complete heart beat from depolarization of the Sinoatrial
Node to repolarization of the ventricles.

Connecting to the ECG sensor:

The NeuLog electrocardiogram sensor uses three reusable clip leads for easy
connection to the arms. Each pair of leads (red + yellow, red + black, black + yellow)
measure the heart’s electrical fluctuations and are all compared against one another.

NEULOG ELECTROCARDIOGRAM SENSOR GUIDE

Leads:

 Black: Ground
 Red: Positive
 Yellow: Negative

How to connect:

1. Connect the NeuLog ECG sensor to a smart device using one of the
following guides. (PC or Mac/Tablet/Viewer)

2. Place the red clip on the subject’s left wrist with the metal connector on the
underside (palm side) of the arm.

3. Place the yellow clip on the subject’s right wrist with the metal connector on
the underside (palm side) of the arm.

4. Place the black clip on the subject’s left forearm or elbow.

5. Connect the three alligator clips (red, yellow, black) directly to their
corresponding arm clip’s (red, yellow, black) metal piece that forms a loop.

6. You are now connected.

Note: There are other configurations possible, this is just one possibility. If the R
wave shows a downward slope instead of upward, your connection’s polarization is
reversed though the absolute results are still the same.

Quick start procedure:

PC or Mac Computer

Materials needed:

 NUL-218 ECG Sensor
 3 Neulog Reusable Clamp Leads
 USB-200 USB Module
 A USB to mini USB cable (which comes with the USB-200)

Your ECG sensor needs to be connected to a USB-200 module. The USB-200
module then connects to a computer via a USB to mini-USB cable. Please note that
you cannot plug the ECG sensor directly into the computer.

Resident PC software and browser based software can be downloaded for free at
www.NeuLog.com/dowload as well as a full software user guide. Note: Make sure not
to download and install both types of software, they will conflict on the computer.

Procedure:

1. Install the NeuLog software

2. Connect the USB-200 module to the PC or Mac

3. Connect the ECG sensor to the USB-200 module (they directly plug
together). Please note there is no calibration required for this sensor.

4. Open the NeuLog software.

5. Once an ECG sensor logo appears on the left side of the screen the probe
has been automatically identified and you can begin experimentation.

6. If the ECG sensor is not automatically identified then click the “Search for
sensors” icon to find the sensor.

7. Select the “On-line experiment” button; this will open a graph below.

8. Click on the “Module setup” button located on the ECG sensor icon in the
module window to change the sensor settings if need be.

9. Click on the experiment set up button to change the experiment settings if
need be (experiment duration for example).

10. The ECG sensor will give a live reading in the box to the left of the screen
while plugged in.

11. To run an experiment and collect data click “Run experiment”.

12. To end data collection early, click “Stop experiment”.

Tablet, smart phone device

Materials needed:

 NUL-218 ECG Sensor
 3 Neulog Reusable Clamp Leads
 WIFI-201 WIFI module
 BAT-200 Battery

Your ECG sensor needs to be connected to a WIFI-201 module. The WIFI-201
module will create a closed NeuLog wifi network which will stream the NeuLog data to
a device of your choosing. Once your device is wirelessly connected to the NeuLog
network you can run experiments and collect data through a browser of your choosing.