Long-term ambulatory physiological surveillance equiment (LAPSE).

A system is described for the acquisition of physiological data for up to 24-hour periods in the ambulant subject free to undertake his usual daily activities. ECG and trunk acceleration signals are recorded on a small analogue magnetic tape recorder along with a stable time-reference. The standard C120 tape cassette used in the recorder is replayed at 60 times the recording speed and the recovered data automatically processed to yield outputs which describe the instantaneous heart rate response of the subject to particular activity. The system is evaluated and the potential indicated by examples of clinical application.