93917 - Biomedical Instrumentation

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing the operational and design principles of the most commonly used diagnostic instrumentation (instrumentation for recording bioelectrical potentials, for the acquisition of bio-images, for the measurement of forces and pressures, body flows and volumes, blood oxygenation). At the end of the class, the student knows – for each described device/instrumentation - the underlying physical phenomena, architecture, employed materials, operational modes, aspects of interaction with the human body. The student is also able to analyze and solve problems related to design of biomedical measurement instruments.

Course contents

Electronic circuits, amplifiers and filters for biomedical signals

Operational amplifier

Negative feedback amplifiers

Instrumentation amplifier

Active filters

Other analogic feedback circuits (adder circuit, differentiator/integrator, peak/amplitude detector circuits)

Measurement of electroencephalographic potentials

Electrodes for EEG

International standard for electrode positioning

Digital electroencephalographic system

Piezoelectric materials

Properties of piezoelectric materials: direct and inverse piezoelectric effect

Signal processing circuits for piezoelectric sensors (voltage amplifier, charge amplifier)

Accelerometers

Instrumentation for Ultrasound Imaging

Basic physics of ultrasounds

Main elements of an ultrasound transducer and image generation

Electronic steering and focusing in array transducers

Measurement of flow and volume

Blood ultrasound flowmeters (phase shift, continuous-wave and pulsed-wave doppler flowmeters)

Electrical-impedance plethysmography

Defibrillators

Monophasic trapezoidal

Biphasic trapezoidal

Laboratory activities

Characterization of an operational amplifier

Realization of a peak/amplitude detector with operational amplifier

Design and realization of a second-order filter

Square-wave generator with operational amplifier

Realization of a charge amplifier for piezoelectric pressure sensor

Readings/Bibliography

G. Avanzolini and E. Magosso, Strumentazione biomedica: progetto e impiego dei sistemi di misura, Pàtron Editore, Bologna, 2015, terza edizione

J.G. Webster, Medical Instrumentation: application and design, Wiley and Sons, NY, 2009, 4th edition.

J.J. Carr, J.M. Brown, Introduction to Biomedical Equipment Technology, Wiley &Sons, NY, 4th Edition, 2000.

R.S. Khandpur, Biomedical Instrumentation: Technology and Applications, McGraw-Hill Professional, 2004

V.L. Da Silveira Nantes Button, Principles of Measurement and Transduction of Biomedical Variables, Academic Press, Elsevier, 2015

Teaching methods

The course consists of in-class lectures and laboratory activities. The letures aim at furnishing the theoretical knowledge on operational principles and design elements of the presented biomedical instrumentation. The theoretical concepts will be accompanied by exempla and exercises on analysis and design of biomedical systems. Laboratory activities using will be performed at the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory and at the Electronic and Telecommunication Laboratory, and provide the student with experience in the use of benchtop instrumentation and in the realization and testing of circuits of general biomedical interest.

As concerns the teaching methods of this course unit, all students must attend Module 1, 2 on Health and Safety online [https://www.unibo.it/en/services-and-opportunities/health-and-assistance/health-and-safety/online-course-on-health-and-safety-in-study-and-internship-areas].

Assessment methods

Student learning assessment will be performed through a final examination, which ascertains the acquisition of the expected knowledge and skills. Starting from June 2023, the exam consists of a written test (without oral test). The written test lasts approximately 3 hours. During the test, the use of books, notes, or informatic tools is not permitted. The written test consists of exercises and open questions. By solving the exercises, the students demonstrate that they have acquired the tools and methodologies to deal with problems of design and analysis of electromedical devices. By answering the open questions, the students demonstrate that they have acquired theoretical knowledge and mastery of concepts. In the event of a positive outcome, the student can ask to refuse the grade; the refusal is granted to the student only once (as allowed by the University Teaching Regulations, art. 16, paragraph 5).

The dates of the exams are scheduled on the basis of the teaching calendar, and are published on Almaesami (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm ). Students can register for the exam exclusively through the Almaesami service (https://almaesami.unibo.it/almaesami/welcome.htm ).

Teaching tools

Blackboard, document camera, notebook, projector, lecture notes, Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, Electronic and Telecommunication Laboratory, Matlab software

Office hours

See the website of Elisa Magosso