)1( ‫الكترونيات حيوية و قياسات‬

Bioinstrumentation I
Chapter 1 –BASIC CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION

‫ نعمان قائد النجار‬.‫إعداد أ د‬

Dr.Eng. Noman AL Naggar- PhD in biomedical engineering

Department of Biomedical Engineering UST
[email protected]
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Note -This chapter taken from different resources internet and modified by
dr.Noman AL Naggar
in
John G. Webster (Editor)
Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design
John Wiley & Sons, 1998

ISBN 0-471-15368-0

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 Basic concepts of Biomedical Instrumentation
Generalized Medical Instrumentation/ System.
Components of BM Instrumentation System
BI Operational Modes of measurement
Constraints of biomedical measurement
Classification of biomedical instruments
Interferences and compensation techniques
Static system characteristics
Dynamic system characteristics

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 Generalized Medical Instrumentation/ System
Measurement: Physical quantity measured by the instrument
• Sensor
– Converts a physical measurand to an electrical output
• Should respond only to the form of energy present in the measurand
• Should be minimally invasive (ideally noninvasive)
• Signal conditioning
– Amplify, filter, match the impedance of the sensor to the display
(impedance adaptation )
– Convert Analog signal to Digital CAD

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 Generalized Medical Instrumentation/ System
Signal Conditioning
electronic feedback
instrumentation
signal conditioning
output
sensor
signal display
processing storage
transmission
measurand

• Signal Conditioning: Amplification and filtering of the signal acquired from the
sensor to make it suitable for display
• General categories
• Analog, digital or mixed-signal signal conditioning
•
• Calibration (adjustment of output to match parameter measured)
Compensation (remove of undesirable secondary sensitivities)

Ch1 Basics. p. 5
 …Generalized Medical Instrumentation/ System

• Output display
– Results must be displayed in a form that the human operator can
perceive
• Numerical, Graphical, Discrete or continuous, Permanent or temporary, Visual
or acoustical
• Auxiliary elements
– Data storage
– Data transmission
– Control and feedback
– Calibration signal
Analysis and Display: Digitizing, analysis of electric signals. Output Result
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 Generalized Medical Instrumentation/ System

Sensor Analyzing and

Display

Signal Conditioning Digitizing

• This is the flow chart of signals of a generalized biomedical instrumentation.

• The biological signal is collected by the sensor and amplified to the level for the data acquisition
board.
• The data acquisition board conforms to the standard of computer. After the data acquisition, the
signal can be analyzed by software such as LabVIEW.
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 Generalized Medical Instrumentation System

Generalized instrumentation system.

The sensor converts energy or information from the measured to another form (usually electric).
This signal is then processed and displayed so that humans can perceive the information.
Elements and connections shown by dashed lines are optional for some applications.
 Generalized Medical Instrumentation System
electronic feedback
actuator instrumentation
signal conditioning
output
sensor
signal display
processing storage
transmission
measurand

• Measurand: Physical quantity, property or condition that the system measure

• Types of biomedical measurands
• Internal – Blood pressure
• Body surface – ECG or EEG potentials
• Peripheral – Infrared radiation
• Offline – Extract tissue sample, blood analysis, or biopsy (samples analysis)
• Typical biomedical measurand quantities
• Biopotential, pressure, flow, dimensions (imaging), displacement (velocity, acceleration and force),
impedance, temperature and chemical concentration

Ch1 Basics. p. 2
 Medical and Physiological Parameters
Measurement Range Frequency, Hz Method
Blood flow 1 to 300 mL/s 0 to 20 Electromagnetic or ultrasonic
Blood pressure 0 to 400 mmHg 0 to 50 Cuff or strain gage
Cardiac output 4 to 25 L/min 0 to 20 Fick, dye dilution
Electrocardiography 0.5 to 4 mV 0.05 to 150 Skin electrodes
Electroencephalography 5 to 300  V 0.5 to 150 Scalp electrodes
Electromyography 0.1 to 5 mV 0 to 10000 Needle electrodes
Electroretinography 0 to 900  V 0 to 50 Contact lens electrodes
pH 3 to 13 pH units 0 to 1 pH electrode
pCO2 40 to 100 mmHg 0 to 2 pCO2 electrode
pO2 30 to 100 mmHg 0 to 2 pO2 electrode
Pneumotachography 0 to 600 L/min 0 to 40 Pneumotachometer

Respiratory rate 2 to 50 breaths/min 0.1 to 10 Impedance

Temperature 32 to 40 °C 0 to 0.1 Thermistor

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 …Generalized Medical Instrumentation System…
Example for one sensor and its parameters
• The specifications for a typical blood pressure sensor.
– Sensor specifications for blood pressure sensors are determined by a committee
composed of individuals from academia, industry, hospitals, and government

Specification Value
Pressure range –30 to +300 mmHg
Overpressure without damage –400 to +4000 mmHg
Maximum unbalance ±75 mmHg
Linearity and hysteresis ± 2% of reading or ± 1 mmHg
Risk current at 120 V 10 A
Defibrillator withstand 360 J into 50 

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Components of BM Instrumentation System…Sensor

electronic feedback
actuator instrumentation
signal conditioning
output
sensor basic
signal display
advanced processing storage
transmission
measurand

• A sensor converts physical measurand to an electrical output

• Sensor requirements
• Selective – should respond to a specific form of energy in the measurand
• Minimally invasive (invasive = requiring entry into a part of the body)
• sensor should not affect the response of the living tissue
• Most common types of sensors in biomedical systems
• displacement
• pressure

Ch1 Basics. p. 4
 Components of BM Instrumentation System…

• A sensor
– Detects biochemical, bioelectrical, or biophysical parameters
– Provides a safe interface with biological materials
• An actuator
– Delivers external agents via direct or indirect contact (Sin wave for US
Sensor or R-IR light for LED sensor)
– Controls biochemical, bioelectrical, or biophysical parameters
– Provides a safe interface with biologic materials (insulator ‫)دارة العزل‬

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 …Components of BM Instrumentation System…

• The electronics interface

– Matches electrical characteristics of the sensor/actuator with
computation unit
– Preserves signal to noise ratio of sensor
– Preserves efficiency of actuator
– Preserves band width (i.e., time response) of sensor/actuator
– Provides a safe interface with the sensor/actuator
– Provides a safe interface with the computation unit
– Provides secondary signal processing functions for the system

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 …Components of BM Instrumentation System

• The computation unit (user interface)

– provides primary user interface
– provides primary control for the overall system
– provides data storage for the system
– provides primary signal processing functions for the system
– maintains safe operation of the overall system

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 BI = biomedical
instrumentation BI Operational Modes of measurement

• Direct mode: measure desired measurand directly

• if the sensor is invasive, direct contact with the measurand is possible but risky and least acceptable

• Indirect mode: measure a quantity that is accessible and related to the desired measurand

• assumption: the relationship between the measurands is already known

• often chosen when the measurand requires invasive procedures to measure directly

• Example indirect mode

• Cardiac output (volume of blood pumped per minute by the heart)
• can be determined from measurement of respiration, blood gas concentration

• Organ morphology
• can be determined from x-ray shadows

Ch1 Basics. p. 8
 BI Operational Modes of measurement
• Sampling vs. Continuous mode
• Sampling: for slow varying measurands that are sensed in frequently
• like body temperature & ions concentrations
• Continuous: for critical measurements requiring constant monitoring
• like electro-cardiogram and respiratory gas flow

• Generating vs. Modulating

• Generating: also known as self-powered mode
• derive their operational energy from the measurand itself
• Example: piezoelectric sensors (weight measure), solar cells

• Modulating: measurand modulates the electrical signal which is supplied externally

• modulation affects output of the sensor
• Example: IR sensor

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 BI Operational Modes of measurement
• Analog vs. digital modes
• most sensors are inherently analog
• (some optical sensors are exceptions)

• require analog-to-digital converters before any DSP (digital signal processing) techniques could
be applied for filtering
• Real-time vs. Delayed-time mode
• Real-time
• Example: ECG signals need to measured in real-time to determine an cardiac arrest

• Delayed-time
• Example: cell cultures which requires several days before any output is acquired

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 Constraints of Biomedical Measurement
Low magnitude of biological signals
Access constraint
Invasive measurement vs. non-invasive measurement.
Safety issues
Limitation of external applied signal
Electrical safety

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 Constraints of Biomedical Measurement
Measurement Constraints
The signal to be measured imposes constraints on how it should be acquired and processed.
The form of Measurement Constraints could be appeared from the following :

• Signal/frequency ranges
• Most medical measurands parameters are typically much lower than conventional sensing
parameters (microvolts, mm Hg, low frequency)

• Interference
• Noise from environment, instruments, etc.
• Other measurands affect measurement (and can’t be isolated)
• e.g., Cannot measure EEG without interference from EMG
• Require filtering and/or compensation

• Placement of sensor(s) in/on/near the body plays a key role in any bio-instrumentation
design------- continue -

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 Constraints of Biomedical Measurement
Measurement Constraints
• Primary cause
• interaction between different physiological systems

• SAFETY
• Due to interaction of sensor with living tissue, safety is a primary consideration in all phases of the design &
testing process
• the damage caused could be irreversible
• In many cases, safe levels of energy is difficult to establish
• Safety of medical personnel also must be considered
• Operator constraints

• Reliable, easy to operate and durable

Ch1 Basics. p. 12
 Classification of biomedical instruments
• Quantity being sensed
• pressure, flow or temperature
• makes comparison of different technologies easy

• Principle of transduction
• resistive, inductive, capacitive, ultrasonic or electrochemical
• makes development of new applications easy

• Organ systems
• cardiovascular, pulmonary, nervous, endocrine
• isolates all important measurements for specialists who need to know
about a specific area

• Clinical specialties
• pediatrics, obstetrics, cardiology or radiology
• easy for medical personnel interested in specialized equipment.

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Classification of Medical Devices
MEDICAL
DEVICES
(Viewpoints)

Quantity Sensed Organ System

(eg. temperature, flow, (eg. cardiovascular,
pressure etc) pulmonary, nervous etc)

Principles of Clinical Medicine

Transduction Specialties
(eg. resistive, capacitive, (eg. pediatrics, obstetrics,
inductive, ultrasonic etc) cardiology, radiology etc)
 Classification of biomedical instruments

• Based on the activities (function) involved in the medical care,

medical instrumentation may be divided into three categories:
– Diagnostic devices
– Therapeutic devices
– Monitoring devices

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 Interferences and Compensation Techniques
Any measurement includes signal and noise. The noise can be the electromagnetic, e.g. 60Hz
noise and radio frequency, or body related, e.g. motion artifact

Signal sources: ECG. EEG, blood pressure, temperature…

Noise sources
 External: 60 Hz, radio frequency (RF), magnetic…

 Internal: muscle noise, motion artifact…

Figure 1.2
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 Interferences and Compensation Techniques
We shall discuss several compensation methods for eliminating the effects of
interfering and modifying inputs.

1- Inherent insensitivity
The twisted wires has the property to minimize the induced noise current by the
surrounding electro-magnetic field.
The induced electric currents in the neighboring twist (loop) cancel each other.

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Interferences and Compensation Techniques
2-Negative feedback
x  xd  H f y
y  Gd x  n
xd Θ Gd

Hf

y  Gd ( xd  H f y )  n Negative feedback can reduce the

noise created inside the system.
Gd X d n The amount depends on the gain and
y 
1  Gd H f 1  Gd H f the feedback coefficient of the
system.
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 Systems With Feedback
Gain without feedback = H
x(t) v(t) y(t)
+ H
Gain with feedback -

v(t )  x(t )  Fy(t )

y (t )  Hv(t ) F

y (t )  H x(t )  Fy(t )  Case 1 without feedback

y (t )  HFy(t )  Hx(t ) G = H = 10 ± 10%
H Case 2 with feedback
y (t )  x(t )
1  HF H = 100 ± 10%
F= 0.09
y (t ) H
G  G = 10 ± ??%
x(t ) 1  HF
 Systems Without Feedback
Example:

The system has a gain of 10 and due to noise the gain

may increase or decrease by 10%. In an ideal case the
output will be 20 volt if the input is 2 volt. Find the
maximum and minimum outputs if the system gain
fluctuates by 10%.

y(t)
x(t) H
 Systems With Feedback
Example:

The system with the feedback has a gain of 10. The

forward gain H is 100 and the reverse gain F is 0.09.
Due to noise the forward gain H may increase or
decrease by 10%. In an ideal case the output will be 20
volt if the input is 2 volt. Find the maximum and
minimum outputs if the forward gain fluctuates by 10%.

x(t) v(t) y(t)

+ H
-

F
 Interferences and Compensation Techniques
3-Signal filtering:
Filtering can separate noise from the desired signal using their distinct property.
E.g. separate high frequency noise from low frequency signal.
4- Opposing inputs:
If noise is known, it can be removed from the signal by subtracting the noise from
the signal
 An example of using the opposing-input method is to intentionally induce a voltage from the
same 60 Hz magnetic field present in Figure 1.2 to be amplified and inverted until cancellation of
the 60 Hz noise in the output is achieved.

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Generalized Static Characteristics
1-Static System Characteristics
Describe the performance of instruments for DC or very low frequency inputs.
The properties of the output for a wide range of constant inputs demonstrate the quality of the
measurement, including nonlinear and statistical effects.
Some sensors and instruments, such as piezoelectric devices, respond only to time-varying
inputs and have no static characteristics.

2-Dynamic characteristics
it require the use of differential and/or integral equations to describe the
quality of the measurements. Although dynamic characteristics usually depend
on static characteristics

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- Static System Characteristics-1
a- Accuracy :
The difference between the true value and the measured value divided by the true
value.
Accuracy defines how close the measurement result is to the real value.
x x
.
x x
x
b- Precision:
A measurement expresses the number.of distinguishable alternatives from which a
given result is selected.
xxx
Precision defines the resolution of the measurement result. xx

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 Accuracy and precision…
• Resolution
– the smallest incremental quantity that can be reliably measured.
• a voltmeter with a larger number of digits has a higher resolution than one with
fewer digits.
– However, high resolution does not imply high accuracy. (a)

• Precision
– the quality of obtaining the same output from repeated measurements
from the same input under the same conditions.
– High resolution implies high precision.
– Data points with (a) low precision and (b) high precision. (b)

Obtaining the highest possible precision, repeatability, and accuracy

is a major goal in bioinstrumentation design.
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Static System Characteristics-1
-

C. linearity:
illustration of the definition of linear system. If the y1 corresponds
to the input x1 and y2 to x2, then y1+y2 is the output when x1+x2
is supplied as input. If the input is increase by k fold, the output will
also be increased by k fold

x1 y1 x1 + x 2 Linear y1 + y 2
Linear
System System

x2 y2 kx1 Linear ky1

Linear
System System

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 Sources of Biomedical Signals
 Bioelectrical
◦ Membrane potentials generated by nerve and muscle cells.
◦ Eg. electrocardiogram, electromyogram signals etc.

 Bioacoustics
◦ Acoustic signals created by biomedical phenomena.
◦ Eg. sound from heart valves, air flow in the lung etc.

 Biomechanical
◦ Originate from mechanical functions of biological system.
◦ E.g. displacement, pressure and flow signals.
 Sources of Biomedical Signals
 Biochemicals
◦ Resultant of chemical measurement from living tissues or samples.
◦ Eg. Concentration of various ions in the blood.
 Biomagnetics
◦ Weak magnetic signals produced by various organs.
◦ Eg. MEG signals from the brain.
 Bio- Opticals
◦ Generated as a result of optical functions from the biological system.
◦ E.g. Modified IR absorption due to blood oxygenation.
 Bioimpedance
◦ Tissue impedance that gives information regarding its composition, blood volume etc.
◦ Eg. Galvanic skin resistance, respiratory rate etc.