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How to Conduct a
Literature Search

PubMed

BME library: http://guides.library.cmu.edu/BME

Search practice (everything on the information page is
searchable)
Ø“ventricular assist device” or ventricular assist device
& Dr. Zapanta
& Carnegie Mellon
& Pittsburgh
Ø Article types: journal article, review, book
Ø Publication date

PubMed

Ask PubMed to send you periodic updates
– Create a PubMed account
– Set up search key words

Getting help:

Off-campus access

Interlibrary loan

Ask librarian for help

Collaborate with a librarian: need to write a
thorough review article?

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Poster Project Assignment

Poster Project Assignment

Potential poster topic

Due on 09/28/2018

Three (3) potential topics with a one or two
sentence description per topic

Bioinstrumentation:

Data Acquisition and

Electrocardiography

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ECG Signal

Wikipedia 7

Bioinstrumentation Challenge

You are an engineer for “Hearts ‘r Us” who is
assigned the task of designing a heart rate
monitor.

With a partner:
– Determine how to measure heart rate automatically.
– What kind of equipment and software will you need?
– What challenges do you foresee in developing and
operating your heart rate monitor?

Lecture Objectives

Understand and describe data acquisition
concepts and signal processing techniques

Describe basic components of the Clevemed
Bioradio 150 wireless biotelemetry system

Understand physiology of ECGs and
operation of pacemakers

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10

Analog and Digital

Analog

Digital

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital

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A digital signal might be a discrete

representation of an analog waveform

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/analog-vs-digital

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Data Acquisition

Biopotentials have a
continuous range of
voltages varying over
time (analog signals)
– These voltages have an
infinite amount of
possible values
– Because a computer is http://users.rowan.edu/~shreek/networks1/music.html
digital, it cannot record
an infinite number of
values.

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Data Acquisition

Computer samples
discrete voltage levels
at discrete points in
time and then
reconstructs the
continuous signal from
these discrete points

Analog to digital
http://users.rowan.edu/~shreek/networks1/music.html

converter (ADC) is
used to convert
between the two types
of data

Analog to Digital Converter

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(ADC)

The first step of the
ADC is sampling
– Voltage is sampled at a
discrete point of time of
the original analog signal

Once a data point is
sampled, it is then
converted into a http://users.rowan.edu/~shreek/networks1/music.html

binary value
– Typical resolutions for
data acquisition are 8,
12, and 16 bits

Analog to Digital Converter

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(ADC)

This process is then repeated for the next
sample.

When a computer reconstructs the sampled
data to form a continuous graph, it connects
all the discrete samples together to form a
continuous plot

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Signal Processing:
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Frequency Analysis

Operations on or analysis of signals

Frequency analysis
– Identify frequency components of waveform
– Use a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform)
– Fourier Transform: Converts time domain to
frequency domain
– Identify dominant frequencies from amplitude
vs. frequency plots

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Bioradio 150

Wireless physiological monitor

Subject-worn unit amplifies and digitizes
the signal and then transmits the data over
a wireless network to a computer for
analysis and storage

Also called a biotelemetry system

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Bioradio 150

Advantages of this wireless biotelemetry
system over a tethered system
– Patient is not directly tied to an outlet ground
– Patients are free to move around
– Patients can be monitored outside the
laboratory setting

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Bioradio 150

Consists of three main hardware sections:
1. Signal Amplification
2. Digitization (Data Acquisition)
3. RF link

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Signal Amplification

Noise occurs during recording of
biopotentials

Amplitude of biopotentials (~ µV) is often
much smaller than that of the noise

One of the most common sources of noise is
60 Hz AC power

Patient may act as an antenna

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Other Sources of Noise

Other electronic laboratory equipment

Lights

Radios

Cell phones

Other biopotentials
– EEG, EMG, etc.

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Bandwidth

Overall system bandwidth derived from the
sampling rate, data resolution, and modulation
format

The more bits that are available, the better the
resolution is… but there are tradeoffs!

Example:
– 10 minute 16 channel EEG recording using a sampling
rate of 200 Hz and 16 bits per channel
– 16 bits * 200 samples/sec * 600 seconds * 16 channels =
30,720,000 bits or 3.84 Megabytes

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RF Link

BioRadio RF system is divided between two
hardware platforms: a transmitter and a
receiver

Transmitter is associated data collection
and transmission

Receiver collects the transmitted data and
sends it to USB port of the computer

RF Link:
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Amplifier/Transmitter Unit

Eight-channel amplifier whose output is
digitized (8, 12, or 16-bit resolution) and
then sent to the radio section of the board

Radio board consists of a low-power,
narrow band, frequency shift modulated,
and frequency synthesized transmitter that
operates in the 902-928 MHz carrier
frequency band

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Cardiac Anatomy

Cleveland Medical Devices, Inc. “Electrocardiography I Laboratory.” CleveLabs Laboratory Course System, Version 6.0, 2006.

25

How many times does your

26

heart beat each year?

80 beats per minute x
60 minutes per hour x
24 hours per day x
365 days per year =

42,048,000 beats per year

How much blood does your

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heart pump each year?

5 liters per minute x
60 minutes per hour x
24 hours per day x
365 days per year =

2,628,000 liters* per year =

1,194,545 gallons** per year
* O lym p ic Sw im m in g P ool V olu m e = 3,750 ,0 0 0 liters
** 2,239 M ilk T ru ck s (5,0 0 0 gallon s p er tru ck )

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Electrocardiography

Contraction of heart chambers
coordinated by cardiac electric system

Using surface electrodes, the cardiac
potential of the heart can be measured and
correlated with regions of cardiac excitation

This measurement is called an
electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

ECG Signal

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Electrocardiography

ECG can be used to evaluate cardiac
function, heart rate, and cardiac
arrhythmias

Disorders such as bradycardia,
tachycardia, and electrical conduction
problems can be all diagnosed from the
ECG

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Cardiac Conduction System

Specialized regions
within heart to
initiate electrical
signals to cause
cardiac contraction

Electrical signals
start at SA Node
– Natural pacemaker Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford

– Contracts atria
(http://www.lpch.org/diseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/cardiac/pacemkr.html)

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Cardiac Conduction System

Signals go to AV node
– Slightly delays signal
to allow atria to fully
contract

Signals go to Bundle
of His and Bundle
Branches
– Contracts ventricles

Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford

(http://www.lpch.org/diseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/cardiac/pacemkr.html)

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Electrode Configuration

Standard placement of electrodes (bipolar
limb lead) when performing ECG recordings

Four electrodes (corresponding to three
leads) used in this lab
– Right arm, left arm, right leg, and left leg

Lead = potential difference between two
electrodes

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Lead Configuration

Using these three leads, the Einthoven
Triangle is formed

This is a representation of vectors
demonstrating the formation of the ECG
signal

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Lead Configuration

Each lead is assumed to be equivalent to measurements
taken across all sides of an equilateral (Einthoven’s)
triangle, which is superimposed over the chest

Einthoven’s Law says that if the potentials of the first two
leads are known, than the third lead can be found by
adding the two vectors together

Lead I + Lead III = Lead II

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Heart Rate Monitor

ECG appears to be a repeating signal under
normal conditions

Computational methods can be used to
record heart rate
– Peak detection
– FFT

Useful for physiological studies,
pacemakers, etc.

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Cardiac Arrythmias

Irregularity in natural cardiac rhythm

Bradycardia: heart rate < 60 BPM (beats per
minute)

Tachycardia: heart rate > 100 BPM

Fibrillation: Uncontrolled, irregular beat
– Atrial or ventricular

Heart block
– SA node sends electrical signal properly, but signal is not
properly passed through AV node or lower electrical
pathways

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Treating Cardiac Arrythmias

Drugs

Surgery
– Cardiac ablation

Artificial pacemakers
– Battery operated device that helps heart beat in
regular rhythm

Pacemaker

Pulse Generator

Pacing Lead(s)

Programmer

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Pulse Generator

Sealed lithium battery
and electronic
circuitry package

Produces the electrical
signals that make the
heart beat
Courtesy of Medtronic, Inc.

Has the capability to

receive and respond to
signals that are sent by
the heart itself
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Pulse Generator:
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Output Circuit

Output circuit produces the electrical
stimuli to be applied to the heart

Stimulus generation is triggered by the
timing circuit

Constant-voltage pulses
– Typically rated at 5.0 to 5.5V for 500 to 600μs

Constant-current pulses
– Typically rated at 8 to 10mA for 1.0 to 1.2ms

Pulse Generator:
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Output Circuit

Asynchronous pacing rates 70 to 90 beats
per minute

Non-fixed ranges from 60 to 150 beats per
minute

With an average current drain of 30μW, a 2
A-h battery could last more than 20 years
– More likely 7 to 10 years

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Pacing Leads

One or two insulated, flexible
wires that conduct electrical
signals to the heart from the
pulse generator

May also relay signals from
the heart to the pulse
generator

One end of the lead is
attached to the pulse
generator and the electrode
end of the lead is positioned
in the atrium and/or in the NIH

ventricle
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44

Pacing Leads

SelectSecure, Courtesy Medtronic, Inc.

Characteristics of Pacing
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Leads

Good conductor

Mechanically strong and reliable
– Must withstand effects of motion due to beating
of heart and movement of body

Good electrical insulation

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Electrodes

Silicone or
polyurethane
lead material

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References

St. Jude Medical, Inc

Medtronic, Inc.

Webster, JG (1998). Medical
Instrumentation. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
New York, NY.

Webster, JG (1995). Design of Cardiac
Pacemakers. IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ.

Cleveland Medical Devices Inc. (CleveMed)

Wikipedia!

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Review
Bioinstrumentation Lab

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Data Acquisition and Signal

Processing Demonstration

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