The completion of the design, fabrication and evaluation of BIDARS/CR (Biological Data Acquisition and Recording System for Cardiac Rhythm), a new, long-term ambulatory-patient monitoring system for subjects with known or possible rhythm disturbances is proposed. BIDARS/CR can provide patient surveillance of a minimum of about 18 days with a maximum exceeding 3 months. It has direct application for diagnostic purposes and for evaluation of therapy efficacy in the arrhythmic subject. The system consists of a mall, lightweight and unobtrusive patient-worn monitor and a base station. The monitor contains a unique micropower digital recorder which records ECG complexes immediately before, during and after arrhythmic disturbances. BIDARS also records the number of premature beats and heart rate vs time. The base station is a standard PC with a BIDARS interface card and software. The base station permits the user to test and program the monitor, and analyze and store the collected data. Under the project, 20 monitors will be built. The system's ability to analyze, record and playback cardiac rhythm abnormalities will be evaluated using simulated rhythms, patients undergoing electrophysiologic studies, and patients wearing Holter and transtelephonic monitors. The system is modular and adaptable to other classes of problems.
