INTRODUCTION TO THE MAN-

INSTRUMENT SYSTEM
 COMPONENTS OF THE
MAN - INSTRUMENT SYSTEM

The basic components of this system are

essentially the same as in any
instrumentation system.
The only real difference is in having a
living human being as the subject.
The system components are as -:
Stimulus Control feedback

Transducer
Signal
condit-
Transducer
-ioning Display
equip-
Transducer -ment

Man
Recording, data
processing &
transmission of data

Block diagram of man instrument system

 The Subject
The subject is the human being on whom the
measurements are made. Since it is the subject who
makes this system different from other instrumentation
system.
 Stimulus
In many measurements, the response to some form of
external stimulus is required. The instrumentation used
to generate and present this stimulus to the subject is a
vital part of the man instrument system whenever
responses are measured. The stimulus may be visual,
auditory, tactile, or direct electrical stimulation of some
part of the nervous system.
 The Transducer

 A transducer is defined as a device capable of

converting one form of energy or signal to another.
 In man- instrument system, each transducer is used
to produce an electrical signal that is an analog of
the phenomenon being measured.
 The transducer may measure temperature, pressure,
flow, or any of the other variables that can be found
in the body, but its output is always as an electrical
signal.
 Signal- Conditioning Equipment
 The part of the instrumentation system that
amplifies, modifies, or in any other way change the
electric way output of the transducer is called signal
conditioning equipment.
 Signal - Conditioning Equipment is also used to
combined or relates the outputs of two or more
transducers.
 Thus for each item of signal- conditioning
equipment both the input & output are electrical
signals, although the output signal is often greaty
modified w.r.t. the input.
 Display Equipment
 The input to the display device is the modified
electrical signal from the signal - conditioning
equipment.
 Its output is some form of visual, audible, or
possibly tactile/prominent information.
 In the man instrumentation system the display
equipment may include a graphic pen recorder
that produces a permanent record of the data.
 Recording, Data- Processing, & Transmission
Equipment
 It is often necessary, or at least desirable, to record
the measured information for possible later use or to
transmit it from one location to another, whether
across the hall of the hospital or half way around the
world.
 Equipment for the functions is often a vital part of
the man- instrument system.
 Also, where automatic storage or processing of data
is required, or where computer control is employed,
an online analog or digital computer may be part of
the instrumentation system.
  It should be noted that the term recorder is used in two
different contexts in biomedical instrumentation.
 A graphic pen recorder is actually a display device used to
produce a paper record of analog waveforms, whereas the
recording equipment referred to in this paragraph includes
devices by which data can be recorded for future
playback, as in a magnetic tape recorder.
 Control Devices
 Where it is necessary or desirable to have automatic
control of the stimulus, transducers, or any other part of
the man instrument system, a control system is
incorporated.
 This system usually consists of a feedback loop in which
part of the output from the signal- conditioning or display
equipment is used to control the operation of the system
in some way.
THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
 The cardiovascular system can be viewed as a complex,
closed hydraulic system with a four chamber pump(the
heart), connected to flexible and sometimes elastic
tubing (blood vessels).
 In some parts of the system, the tubing changes its
diameter to control pressure.
 Reservoirs in the system (veins) change their volume
and characteristics to satisfy certain control
requirements, and a system of gates and variable
hydraulic resistances continually alters the pattern of
fluid flow.
 The four chamber pump acts as two synchronized but
functionally isolated two stage pumps. The first stage of
each pump (the atrium) collects fluid (blood) from the
system and pumps it into the second stage (the
ventricle).
 The action of the second stage is so timed that the fluid
is pumped into the system immediately after it has been
received from the first stage.
 One of the two stage pumps (right side of the heart)
collects fluid from the main hydraulic system (systemic
circulation) and pumps it through an oxygenation
system ( the lungs).
 The other pump (left side of the heart) receives fluid
(blood) from the oxygenation system & pumps it into
the main hydraulic system.
 The heart rate and stroke volume are constantly changed to
meet the overall requirements of the system.
 The blood which flows in a laminar fashion, acts as a
communication and supply network for all parts of the
system.
 Carriers (RBC) of fuel supplies and waste materials are
transported to predetermined destinations by the fluid.
 The fluid also contains mechanisms for repairing small
system punctures and for rejecting foreign elements from
the system (platelets and WBC, respectively).
 Sensors provided to detect changes in the need for
supplies, the buildup of waste materials, & out of tolerance
pressures in the system are known as chemoreceptors, Pco 2
sensors, & baroreceptors, respectively.
 These & other mechanisms control the pump’s speed &
efficiency, the fluid flow pattern through the system,
tubing diameters, & other factors.
 The variables of prime importance in this system are the
pump ( cardiac ) output and the pressure, flow rate, &
volume of fluid ( blood ) at various locations throughout
the system.
 THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
 Whereas the cardiovascular system is the major
hydraulic system in the body, the respiratory system is
the pneumatic system.
 An air pump (diaphragm), which alternately creates
negative & positive pressures in a sealed chamber
( thoracic cavity ) , causes air to sucked into & forced
out of a pair of elastic bags ( lungs ) located within the
compartment.
 The bags are connected to the outside enviornment
through a passageway which at one point is in common
with the tubing that carries liquids & solids to the
stomach.
A special valving arrangement interrupts the pneumatic
system whenever liquid or solid matter passes through the
common region.
 The passageway divides the carry air into each of the bags,
wherein it again subdivides many times to carry air into &
out of each of many tiny air spaces (pulmonary alveoli )
within the bags.
 The dual air input to the system ( nasal cavities ) has an
alternate vent (the mouth ) for use in the event of nasal
blockage & for the other special purposes.
 In the tiny air spaces of the bags is a membrane interface
with the body’s hydraulic system through which certain
gases can diffuse. Oxygen is taken into the blood from the
incoming air, & CO2 is transferred from the fluid to the air,
which is exhausted by the force of the pneumatic pump.
The pump operates with a two-way over-ride.
 An automatic control system ( respiratory center of the
brain ) maintains pump operation at a speed that is adequate
to supply oxygen & carry off CO2 as required by the
system.
 Manual control can take over at any time either to
accelerate or to inhibit the operation of the pump.
Automatic control will return, however, if a condition is
created that might endanger the system.
 System variable of primary importance are respiratory rate,
respiratory air flow, respiratory volume, and concentration
of CO2 in the expired air.
 This system also has a number of relatively fixed volumes
and capacities, such as tidal volume, inspiratory reserve
volume, expiratory reserve volume , residual volume and
vital capacity.
 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
 The nervous system is a communication network for the
body.
 Its center is a self-adapting central information
processor or computer (the brain) with memory,
computational power, decision making capability, & a
myriad of input output channels.
 The computer is self adapting in that if a certain section
is damaged, other sections can adapt & eventually take
over the function of the damaged a section.
 By use of this computer , a person is able to make
decisions, solve complex problems, from all parts of the
body, & coordinate output signals to produce
meaningful behavior.
 Almost as fascinating as the central computers are the
millions of communication lines that bring sensory
information into, & transmit control information out of
the brain.
 In general these lines are not single long lines but often
complicated networks with many interconnections that
are continually changing to meet the needs of the
system.
 By means of the interconnection patterns, signals from a
large number of sensory devices, which detect light,
sound, pressure, heat, cold, & certain chemicals, are
channeled to the appropriate parts of the computer,
where they can be acted upon.
 Similarly output control signals are channeled to
specific motor devices which respond to the signals with
some types of motion or force.
 Feedback regarding every action controlled by the
system is provided to the computer through appropriate
sensors. Information is usually coded in the system by
means of electromechanical pulses that travel along the
signal lines (nerves).
 The pulses can be transferred from one element of a
network to another in one direction only, & frequently
the transfer takes place only when there is the proper
combination of elements acting on the next element in
the chain.
 Action by some elements tends to inhibit transfer by
making the next element less sensitive to other elements
that are attempting to actuate it. Both serial & parallel
coding are used, sometimes together in the same system.
 In addition to the central computer, a large number of
simple decision-making devices (spinal reflexes) are
present to control directly certain motor devices from
certain sensory inputs.
A number of feedback loops are accomplished by this
method . In many cases, only situations where important
decision making is involved require that the central
computer be utilized.
PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN
MEASURING A LIVING
SYSTEM
 The previous discussions of the man instrument system
and the physiological systems of the body imply
measurements on a human subject. In some cases
however, animal subjects are substituted for humans in
order to permit measurements or manipulations that
cannot be performed without some risk.
 Although ethical restrictions sometimes are not as
severe with animal subjects, the same basic problems
can be expected in attempting measurements from any
living system.
 Most of these problems were introduced in earlier
sections, However, they can be summarized as follows-:
 Inaccessibility of Variables to Measurement
 One of the greatest problem in attempting measurements from
a living system is the difficulty in gaining access to the
variable being measured. In some cases, such as in the
measurement of the dynamic neurochemical activity in the
brain, it is impossible to place a suitable transducer in a
position to make the measurement.
 Sometimes the problem stems from the required physical size
of the transducer as compared to the space available for the
measurements.
 In other situations the medical operation is required to place a
transducer in a position from which the variable can be
measured makes the measurement impractical on human
subjects, & sometimes even on animals.
 Where a variable is inaccessible for measurement, an
attempt is often made to perform an indirect
measurement.
 This process involves the measurement of some other
related variable that makes possible a usable estimate of
the in accessible variable under certain conditions.
 In using indirect measurements, however, one must be
constantly aware of the limitations of the substitute
variable and must be able to determine when the
relationship is not valid.
 Variability of the Data

 Few of the variables that can be measured in the human

body are truly deterministic variables. In fact such
variables should be considered as stochastic processes.
 A Stochastic Processes is a time variable related to other
variables in a non deterministic way.
 Physiological variables can never be viewed as strictly
deterministic values but must be represented by some
kind of statistical or probabilistic distribution.
 In other words measurements taken under a fixed set of
conditions at one time will not necessarily be the same
as similar measurements made under the same condition
at another time.
 The variability from one subject to another is even
greater. Here, again, statistical methods must be
employed in order to estimate relationships among
variables.
Lack of Knowledge About Interrelationship
 The foregoing variability in measured values could be
better explained if more were known and understood
about the interrelationships within the body.
 Physiological measurements with large tolerances are
often accepted by the physician because of alack of this
knowledge and the resultant inability to control
variations.
 Better understanding of physiological relationships
would also permit more effective use of ineffective use
of indirect measurements as substitutes for inaccessible
measures & would aid engineers or technicians in their
job of coupling the instrumentation to the physiological
system.
Interaction Among Physiological Systems
 Because of the large number of feedback loops involved
in the major physiological systems, a severe degree of
interaction exists both within a given system & among
the major systems.
 The result is that simulation of one part of a given
system generally affects all other parts of that system in
some way & often affects other systems as well.
 For this reason, “cause & effect” relationships become
extremely unclear & difficult to define.
 Even when attempts are made to open feedback loops,
collateral loops appear & some aspects of the original
feedback loops are still present.
 Also, when one organ or element is rendered inactive,
another organ or element sometimes takes over the
function.
 This situation is especially true in the brain & other
parts of the nervous system.
 Effect of the Transducer on the
Measurement
 Almost any kind of measurement is affected in some way
by the presence of the measuring transducer.
 The problem is greatly compounded in the measurement
of living systems. In many situations the physical presence
of the transducer changes the reading significantly.
 For example, a large flow transducer placed in a blood
stream partially blocks the vessel & changes the pressure-
flow characteristics of the system.
 Similarly, an attempt to measure the electrochemical
potentials generated within an individual cell requires
penetration of the cell by a transducer.
 This penetration can easily kill the cell or damage it so that it
can no longer function normally. Often the presence of a
transducer in one system can affect responses in other
systems.
 For example, local cooling of the skin, to estimate the
circulation in the area, causes feedback that changes the
circulation pattern as a reaction to the cooling.
 The psychological effect of the measurement can also affect
the results. Long term recording techniques for measuring
blood pressure have shown that some individuals who would
otherwise have normal pressure reading whenever they are in
the physician’s office.
 because of the limited amount of energy available in the body
for many physiological variables, care must also be taken to
prevent the measuring system from “loading” the source of
the measured variable.
 Artifacts
 In medicine & biology, the term artifact refers to any
component of a signal that is extraneous to the variable
represented by the signal.
 Thus random noise generated within the measuring
instrument, electrical interference, cross talk, & all other
unwanted variations in the signal are considered
artifacts.
 A major source of artifacts in the measuring of a living
system is the movement of the subject, which in turn
results in movement of the measuring devices.
 Since many transducers are sensitive to movement, the
movement of the subject often produces variations in the
output signal.
 Sometimes these variations are indistinguishable from
the measured variable; at other times they may be
sufficient to obscure the desired information completely.
 Application of anesthesia to reduce movement may
itself cause unwanted changes in the system.
 Energy Limitations
 Many physiological measurement techniques require that
a certain amount of energy be applied to the living system
in order to obtain a measurement.
 For example, resistance measurements require the flow of
electric current through the tissues or blood being
measured. Some transducers generate a small amount of
heat due to the current flow.
 in most cases, this energy level is low that its effect is
insignificant. However, in dealing with living cells, care
must continually be taken to avoid the possibility of enrgy
concentrations that might damage cells or affect the
measurements.
 Safety considerations

 As previously mentioned, the methods employed in

measuring variables in a living human subject must in
no way endanger the life or normal functioning of the
subject.
 Recent emphasis on hospital safety requires that extra
caution must be taken in the design of any measurement
system to protect the patient.
 Similarly, the measurement should not cause undue
pain, trauma, or discomfort, unless it becomes necessary
to undue the conditions in order to save the patient’s life.