Solar Energy ECG for Developing Countries

A Swiss electrotechnology student has devised an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine that runs on solar energy, designed for use in developing countries or troubled areas.

The Kadiri (which means "make possible” in Kiswahili, spoken in much of East-Africa and the Congo) ECG machine operates on power generated by solar cells fitted on the appliance. In addition, while conventional ECG machines have disposable stick-on electrodes, the Kadiri uses reusable clamp electrodes, thus prolonging the machine's operational lifespan. Furthermore, the customary high performance battery was replaced by a lead-acid battery, since the latter can be procured more cheaply and easily. And since conventional ECG paper would gradually become brittle due to the prevalent heat in Africa, normal till paper, such as used in supermarkets, is used and the familiar millimeter grid is printed directly onto it.

The Kadiri was developed by Felix Adamczyk, a student at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH, Zurich, Switzerland). Mr. Adamczyk spawned the idea of building a solar ECG in 2006, during which he was concentrating intensively on Africa and had already built various technical devices. In the summer of 2007, he traveled to Tanzania to do an internship in a hospital; this enabled him to experience the state of the medical technology there at first hand. The biggest revelation for him was the fact that you cannot really count on the electricity supply, and that fittings and spare parts for conventional ECG machines are hard to come by. Moreover, he concluded that the machine should be devised so that even an untrained hand can use it quickly and without needing to carry out any complicated maneuvers. The final solar ECG design came fifth in the German Youth Competition in Research held in May 2008.

"The requirements for the ECG unit are conceivably simple,” said Felix Adamczyk. "It should be robust, affordable and energy-efficient. You have to adapt the apparatus to suit the local conditions.”

Currently, Adamczyk's main priority is to finish his degree-e at ETH Zurich, where he will be finishing the preliminary exams during the summer of 2008, after which he intends to devote himself more intensively to marketing Kadiri.

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Swiss Federal Institute of Technology