Electrical Engineering 4BD4 Biomedical Instrumentation
Course Description 2013/ 2014
Instructor: Dr. Hubert de Bruin, ITB A211, 905-525-9140 XT 24171 debruin@mcmaster.ca
Teaching Assistants: Philip Chrapka
Schedule: Lectures: 3hours/week
Tutorials: 1 hour per week
Labs: 3hours EOW
Website: http://www.ece.mcmaster.ca/faculty/debruin
Calendar Description:
Principles of instrumentation; Noise and interference in electrical measurements; Generation and
nature of bioelectric potentials; electrodes and other transducers; electrical safety; neuromuscular and
cardiovascular instrumentation; ultrasonics for bio-measurements other than imaging; computer
interfaces for data acquisition systems.
Course Objectives:
Students will be able to apply the principles of electronic circuits and devices to the use and design
of instrumentation in the biomedical area. They will have gained a basic knowledge of the operating
principles of electrical and other transducers, analog and digital instrumentation, applied signal
acquisition and processing, electrical safety in the medical environment, electrical properties of nerve
and muscle physiology; and instrumentation used in cardiopulmonary, neurological, surgical, and
rehabilitation areas of medicine.
Outline of Topics
Lectures Topics
1.
Measurement systems
2.
Noise and coherent interference in measurements
3.
Analog signal conditioning
4.
Origin of Electrophysiological Signals
5.
Measurement of Electrical potentials and Magnetic Fields from the Body surface
6.
Electrodes; Half-Cell Potential; Equivalent Circuits
7.
Biopotential amplifiers; Medical isolation amplifiers;
1. Electrical Functioning of the heart
2. The ECG; Electrode placement;
3. The ECG; Vector cardiography; Driven-Leg ECG amplifiers; Design Example: QRS
complex segmentation
4. Muscle
5. The EMG; Design Example:
6. Brain
7. The EEG; Design Example: Auditory event related potentials
8. Other body surface potentials; EOG; Electroretinogram Design Example: Human Computer
Interface using EOG signals
8.
Sensors commonly encountered in biomedical applications
1. Temperature sensors – Design Example: ICU system for body temperature monitoring
2. Large displacement sensors
1. Motivation: Studying Muscle Activation and Fatigue during the propulsion of a
wheel chair
2. LVDT
3. Mechano-optical sensors
4. Design Example: Studying Muscle Activation and Fatigue during the propulsion of a
3.
4.
5.
6.
wheel chair
Small displacement sensors
1. Motivation: Respiratory gating for lung CT
2. Strain gauges
3. Piezoelectric transducers
4. Design example: Respiratory gating for lung CT
Pressure measurements –
1. Invasive blood pressure measurements
2. Automatic non – invasive blood pressure measurements
3. Design Example: Design a non-invasive blood pressure measurement system
Electro-chemical sensors – noninvasive blood gas sensing with electrodes
Optical sensors – Pulse Oximetry
Plethysmography; volume displacement; impedance
Ultrasound - Doppler US for blood and tissue velocity measurements
Stimulation of excitable tissues; Cardiac pacing and defibrillation
Digital Interfaces in measurement systems; Sampling Theorem; Quantization Noise;
9.
10.
11.
12.
Dithering;
13.
Digital to Analog converters; Analog to digital converters
Laboratory Sessions:
Lab 1 : Differential amplifiers; DAQ / DSP / Statistical Analysis
Key Concepts: Discrete Signals, Acquisition, Amplifiers, Frequency Domain
Lab 2 : ECG / Heart Rate
Key Concepts: Biopotentials, Electrocardiogram, Einthoven's Triangle, Noise Artifact, Bioinstrumentation amplifier for ECG
Lab 3 : EEG
Key Concepts: Alpha & Beta Waves (Alpha Blockers) – in phase or out of phase. Spectral and time
analysis, Irregularities, Bio-instrumentation amplifier for EEG
Lab 4 : EMG & Motor Control
Key Concepts: Muscle twitches, rectification, averaging, RMS, Force vs EMG, Filtering effects on
applications of EMG, Bio-instrumentation amplifier for EMG
Lab 5 : EOG & Environmental Control
Key Concepts: DC Signals, DC Amplifiers, Frequency component of blinking, Scaling of signals
and creation of algorithms to make raw data into useful information, Bio-instrumentation amplifier for
EOG
Format
Full class sessions and tutorials including demonstrations of current clinical instrumentation and
measurements.
Assessment:
Labs 10%
Midterm 30%
Homework 10%
Final Exam 50%
Calculator requirement for tests and examinations: The McMaster standard calculator
(Casio fx991)
Textbooks (Optional):
1. Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design. John G. Webster
2. Custom Courseware, Lecture Notes posted on the class website
Additional resources:
1. Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurements; Second Edition; Robert B Northrop; Taylor
and Francis; ISBN 0-8493-3773-9
2. Noninvasive Instrumentation and Measurement in Medical Diagnosis; Robert N. Northrop;
CRC press; ISBN 0-8493-0961-1
3. Design and Development of Medical Electronic Instrumentation, D. Prutchi and M. Norri, WileyInterscience, 2005
Additional Statements:
 The instructor(s) reserves the right to choose the format (i.e. written or oral) of any deferred
midterm or exam in this course.
 Please note that announcements concerning any type of graded material may be in any format (e.g.,
announcements may be made only in class). Students are responsible for completing the graded
material regardless of whether they received the announcement or not.
 The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The
university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either
type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will
be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the
student to check their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any
changes.
Policy Reminders:
“The Faculty of Engineering is concerned with ensuring an environment that is free of all adverse
discrimination. If there is a problem that cannot be resolved by discussion among the persons
concerned, individuals are reminded that they should contact the Department Chair, the Sexual
Harassment Officer or the Human Rights Consultant, as soon as possible.”
“Students are reminded that they should read and comply with the Statement on Academic Ethics
and the Senate Resolutions on Academic Dishonesty as found in the Senate Policy Statements
distributed at registration and available in the Senate Office”
"Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and
can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a
notation on the transcript (notation reads: "Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty"), and/or
suspension or expulsion from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes
academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the
Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at
http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.htm
The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty:
1 Plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one's own or for which other credit has been
obtained.
2 Improper collaboration in group work.
3 Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations.