Input Guarding
The common mode input impedance and thus the CMRR of an amplifier can be greatly increased by
guarding the input circuit. The common mode signal can be obtained by two averaging resistors connected
between the outputs of the two input op-amps of an instrumentation amplifier as shown in
Fig. 70.9. The buffered common-mode signal at the output of op-amp 4 can be used as guard voltage to
reduce the effects of cable capacitance and leakage.
In many modern biopotential amplifiers, the reference electrode is not grounded. Instead, it is connected
to the output of an amplifier for the common mode voltage, op-amp 3 in Fig. 70.10, which works
as an inverting amplifier. The inverted common mode voltage is fed back to the reference electrode. This
negative feedback reduces the common-mode voltage to a low value [Webster, 1992]. Electrocardiographs
based on this principle are called driven-right-leg systems replacing the right leg ground electrode of
ordinary electrocardiographs by an actively driven electrode.