Nositelné systémy pro monitorovaní vitálních funkcí u zvířat na bázi virtuální bioinstrumentace

Abstract

This bachelors thesis is about different options for wearable systems which are used for monitoring vital signs of animals on the basis of virtual bioinstrumentation. The theoretical part is based on the current state of wearable systems and different methods of monitoring that are applied when it comes to animal examination. Practical part is centered around designing a measuring system which consists of single-channel ECG which monitors the electric aktivity of the heart. Secondly it consists of microphones for BCG that are used to scan the mechanical movement of the heart. This system is designed for long term monitoring of horses when they are stationary and also when the are in motion. Given that monitoring animals or horses is generally very prone to motion artefacts because of the animal not cooperating or because of the load measurement itself. I had to experimentally verify the suitability of BCG sensor. The experiment confirmed the theory that it is not suitable for use in animal monitoring especially when the animal is in motion. In contrast the ECG gives us a quite robust measuring method and when we use suitable preprocessing and a detection algorithm which monitors significant peaks in signal morphology. It is able to provide relevant information about the HR of the animal under effort.