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Paper

Finger-to-Ear ECG: Systematic Evaluation of an Earbud-Based Cardiac Monitoring Approach

Philipp Lepold, Paula Breitling, Jonas Hummel, Tobias Röddiger, Michael Beigl
arXiv preprint2026ECG
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Published articleFirst posted: Sep 21, 2026Publication date: Oct 10, 2026Added to atlas: Oct 12, 2026Source
Citations0Crossref referencesChecked Oct 16, 2026
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This study tests an earbud that records ECG between an in-ear electrode and a finger electrode on the back of the housing. Thirty participants tried four electrode layouts against a chest-reference ECG, including during music playback, talking and walking. Left-finger layouts detected R peaks with F1 above 99% and closely matched key ECG features.

  • Signals: ECG
  • Result: Left-finger configurations achieved R peak detection F1-scores >99% with high agreement of key ECG morphology features.
At a glance
Venue
arXiv preprint
Published
2026
DOI
10.1145/3830727.3834819 (opens in a new tab)
arXiv
2609.24530 (opens in a new tab)
PMID
Not reported
Licence
Not reported
Signals
ECG
Form factor
Not reported
Subjects
30 participants
Code
Not reported
Added
Oct 12, 2026

Abstract

Ear-ECG enables unobtrusive cardiac monitoring, but existing approaches often struggle with low signal amplitudes and limited morphology preservation. We evaluate a finger-to-ear ECG paradigm that combines an in-ear electrode with a rear housing finger-contact electrode in a speaker-equipped earbud. A study with 30 participants investigated four finger-to-ear electrode geometries against chest-reference ECG and additionally assessed robustness under music playback, talking, and walking disturbances. Left-finger configurations achieved R peak detection F1-scores >99% with high agreement of key ECG morphology features. In contrast, right finger configurations as well as walking led to severe signal degradation. The results reveal a trade-off: while cross-body setups provided the highest signal fidelity, users preferred same-side contacts for comfort reasons. This establishes finger-to-ear ECG as a robust, morphology-aware paradigm for opportunistic sensing in earables.

Verbatim fromarXiv· arXiv metadata (abstracts are released under CC0)

Finger-to-Ear ECG: Systematic Evaluation of an Earbud-Based Cardiac Monitoring Approach: ChatPPG research summary card

Key results

99%
F1
Left-finger layouts detected R peaks with F1 above 99% and closely matched key ECG features.

How it works

How Method works: Setup → Method → ResultSetup: Cohort (30 participants); Signals (ECG). Method: Method. Result: Result (Left-finger configurations achieved R peak detection F1-scores >99% with high agreement of key ECG morphology features.).SetupCohort: 30 participantsCohort30 participantsSignals: ECGSignalsECGMethodMethodResultResult: Left-finger configurations achieved R peak detection F1-scores >99% with high agreement of key ECG morphology features.ResultLeft-finger configurations achieved R…
Cohort
30 participants

Cite

@article{fingertoearecgearbudiswc2026,
  title = {{Finger-to-Ear ECG: Systematic Evaluation of an Earbud-Based Cardiac Monitoring Approach}},
  author = {Philipp Lepold and Paula Breitling and Jonas Hummel and Tobias Röddiger and Michael Beigl},
  year = {2026},
  journal = {arXiv preprint},
  doi = {10.1145/3830727.3834819},
  eprint = {2609.24530}
}

History

  1. Added to the ChatPPG research hub

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