What device is used to monitor the heart's electrical activity by contacting the skin during an ECG?

What device is used to monitor the heart's electrical activity by contacting the skin during an ECG?

• A. Electrodes
• B. Leads
• C. Capacitors
• D. Transducers

Answer: (A)

The heart’s electrical activity is measured by sensors that directly contact the skin to detect the tiny voltage differences produced by cardiac depolarization. Those sensors are electrodes, which are placed on the chest and limbs and pick up the electrical signals that the ECG machine then records. The leads are the wires that carry those signals from the electrodes to the monitor, but they are not the sensing devices themselves. Capacitors and transducers have other roles in electronics and do not serve as the skin-contacting sensors for an ECG.

The heart’s electrical activity is measured by sensors that directly contact the skin to detect the tiny voltage differences produced by cardiac depolarization. Those sensors are electrodes, which are placed on the chest and limbs and pick up the electrical signals that the ECG machine then records. The leads are the wires that carry those signals from the electrodes to the monitor, but they are not the sensing devices themselves. Capacitors and transducers have other roles in electronics and do not serve as the skin-contacting sensors for an ECG.