Wearable electrocardiography: from Holter to handheld devices

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• Peter Charlton (University of Cambridge)
• Tuesday 11 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
• Computer Lab, LT2 and Online.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Cecilia Mascolo.

please note the change of time for this talk

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a fundamental technique for assessing heart function. The 12-lead ECG was developed over 70 years ago and to this day remains a gold standard, providing high signal quality and multiple views of the heart. In contrast, wearable ECG technology enables continuous ECG recording over prolonged periods of time outside of clinical settings. More recently, consumer devices like smartwatches and clinical-grade handheld ECG recorders allow 30-second ECGs to be recorded on demand without the need for clinical input. Whilst novel wearables have greatly expanded access to ECG monitoring, they also present interesting challenges, including: ensuring diagnoses are accurate despite the reduced number of leads and lower signal quality; and, making appropriate treatment decisions in a population with lower disease prevalence and burden than encountered in routine clinical practice. In this talk, I will discuss the advantages and limitations of these different ECG measurement techniques and their potential roles in healthcare. I will recent findings from our research on the performance and acceptability of wearable and handheld ECG devices for detecting atrial fibrillation in older adults. Finally, I will discuss future directions for wearable electrocardiography, including advancements in hardware, signal processing algorithms, and their integration into clinical decision-making.

Bio: Peter Charlton is a British Heart Foundation Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, at the University of Cambridge. He develops biomedical signal processing techniques to analyse data from mobile devices for clinical decision making. Peter gained the degree of M.Eng. in Engineering Science in 2010 from the University of Oxford with first class honours. From 2010 to 2020, Peter conducted his research at King’s College London, developing techniques to use wearables to monitor cardiovascular and respiratory health. His Ph.D. focused on using signal processing and machine learning techniques to identify acute deteriorations in hospital patients. Peter is currently developing techniques to use clinical and consumer devices in screening for atrial fibrillation. He is leading a clinical study to assess the acceptability and performance of wearables in older adults. Peter works in collaboration with clinicians and industrial partners to translate his work into clinical practice.

This talk is part of the Mobile and Wearable Health Seminar Series series.

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• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
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• Computer Lab, LT2 and Online
• Department of Computer Science and Technology talks and seminars
• Interested Talks
• Mobile and Wearable Health Seminar Series
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