{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:17:41Z","timestamp":1760235461672,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":13,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,1]],"date-time":"2021-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1630454400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004587","name":"Instituto de Salud Carlos III","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PI18\/00256"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PI18\/00256"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004587","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008666","name":"Fundaci\u00f3 la Marat\u00f3 de TV3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["20153530\/31"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["20153530\/31"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008666","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009664","name":"Sociedad Espa\u00f1ola de Cardiolog\u00eda","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2017-SGR-483"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2017-SGR-483"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009664","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100002809","name":"Generalitat de Catalunya","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2017-SGR-483"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2017-SGR-483"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100002809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"CaixaImpulse","award":["CI20\/00230"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CI20\/00230"]}]},{"name":"Red de Terapia Celular - TerCel","award":["RD16\/0011\/0006"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RD16\/0011\/0006"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100012513","name":"Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Biom\u00e9dica en Red Enfermedades Cardiovasculares","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["CB16\/11\/00403"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CB16\/11\/00403"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100012513","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Electrocardiogram (ECG) synchronization is useful to avoid the effects of cardiac motion in medical measurements, and is widely used in standard medical imaging. A number of medical equipment include embedded commercial synchronizers. However, the use of independent synchronization modules is sometimes needed when several non-integrated instruments are used, or in the development of new medical instruments and procedures. We present a simple low-cost ECG synchronizer module based on an Arduino controller board that converts the ECG signal into a transistor-transistor-logic (TTL) one, allowing real-time medical measurements triggered at specific phases of the cardiac cycle. The device and conversion algorithm developed is optimized in vitro using synthetic and human ECG signals, and tested in vivo on three swine specimens. Error rates during the in vivo testing stage remain below the 2% of the cycles in all animals and critical false positives are less than 1%, which is sufficient for most applications. Possible algorithm updates are discussed if its performance needs to be improved.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21175885","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,1]],"date-time":"2021-09-01T11:39:03Z","timestamp":1630496343000},"page":"5885","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A Simple Low-Cost Electrocardiogram Synchronizer"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2002-526X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Susana","family":"Amor\u00f3s","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Telecommunications Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2254-9371","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolina","family":"G\u00e1lvez-Mont\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ICREC Research Program, Health Science Research Institute Germans Trias i Pujol, Can Ruti Campus, 08916 Badalona, Spain"},{"name":"CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Oriol","family":"Rodr\u00edguez-Leor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"ICREC Research Program, Health Science Research Institute Germans Trias i Pujol, Can Ruti Campus, 08916 Badalona, Spain"},{"name":"CIBERCV, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2740-0202","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Juan Manuel","family":"O\u2019Callaghan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Telecommunications Engineering, Universitat Polit\u00e8cnica de Catalunya, 08034 Barcelona, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Le Roy, J., Zarqane, H., Azais, B., Vernhet Kovacsik, H., Mura, T., Okerlund, D., Lacampagne, A., and Amedro, P. (2019). Impact of Motion Correction Algorithms on Image Quality in Children Undergoing Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography A Comparison with Regular Monophasic and Multiphasic Acquisitions. Circ. Cardiovasc. Imaging, 12.","DOI":"10.1161\/CIRCIMAGING.119.009650"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ladrova, M., Martinek, R., Nedoma, J., Hanzlikova, P., Nelson, M.D., Kahankova, R., Brablik, J., and Kolarik, J. (2021). Monitoring and Synchronization of Cardiac and Respiratory Traces in Magnetic Resonance Imaging: A Review. IEEE Rev. Biomed. Eng.","DOI":"10.1109\/RBME.2021.3055550"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"118608","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2019.2936184","article-title":"A Low-Cost System for Seismocardiography-Based Cardiac Triggering: A Practical Solution for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging at 3 Tesla","volume":"7","author":"Martinek","year":"2019","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zamorano, J.L., Bax, J., Knuuti, J., Sechtem, U., Lancellotti, P., Pinto, F., and Popescu, B.A. (2021). The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Imaging. Chapter 3: Cardiac CT\u2014Basic principles. The ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Imaging, Oxford University Press. 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Nanotechnol."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"National Research Council 2011 (2011). Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, The National Academies Press. [8th ed.]."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"53","DOI":"10.2344\/0003-3006(2006)53[53:FOEI]2.0.CO;2","article-title":"Fundamentals of Electrocardiography Interpretation","volume":"53","author":"Becker","year":"2006","journal-title":"Anesth. 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