AC interference can be displayed as a thick baseline on the ECG waveform. It can also fill the entire screen with 60 Hz interference. An example is listed below.
AC interference is external by nature and may be fixed by removing the source of the interference. The most common reasons are listed below.
Laptop AC adapter:
If a laptop or tablet is being used it will need to be unplugged from the wall during testing. The outlet can generate AC interference on the ECG tracings. By unplugging the adapter the cause of the interference will be removed.
Other devices:
If a laptop or tablet is not being used, or the AC adaptor was not the cause; then the artifact is being caused by another electrical device. Perform the following tasks in order to determine the root cause.
Perform the ECG in another room.
If the artifact is removed then the cause of the artifact is in the original room.
Attempt to remove devices in the original room until the device that is causing the artifact is found.
If the artifact is present in another room, attempt to locate similarities in the room.
More then likely the similarities in the room are causing the issue
Attempt to remove devices in the room until the device that is causing the artifact is found.
Also attempt to replace the electrodes with another batch. Bad electrodes can cause similar
artifact to appear on the tracings.
Please contact Midmark Diagnostics Technical Services if issue is not resolved, 844.856.1230 opt 2.