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Lecture 1 -Basic Theories of Measurement

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16 views

Lecture 1 -Basic Theories of Measurement

Uploaded by

maiderrgzsm
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Physiological Signal Acquisition

and Processing
Basic Theories of Measurement
Summary
• Introduction
• Categories of measurement
• Factors in making measurements
• Error in measurements
Introduction
• This lecture will cover the fundamentals of
measurement, electronic or other.
• There are several categories in measurement.
• Distinguish between accuracy and precision.
• Discuss error in measurement.
Categories of Measurement
• Three general categories:
– Direct
– Indirect
– Null
Categories of Measurement - Direct

• Direct measurements are made by holding the


measurand up to some calibrated standard
and comparing the two.
• Example: Meter stick ruler  If you want to cut
a 50 cm string you hold the string and ruler
side by side and you can measure 50 cm and
make the cut.
Categories of Measurement - Indirect

• Direct measurements are made by measuring


something other than the actual measurand.
• Example: how human blood pressure is
measured. The pressure in an occluding cuff
placed around the arm is measured
(sphygmomanometry). This process actually
measures the Korotkoff’s sounds that are
related to the systolic and diastolic pressures.
Categories of Measurement - Null
• Null measurements are made by comparing a
calibrated source to an unknown measurand
and then adjusting either one or the other
until the difference between them is zero.
• Example: An electrical potentiometer. In this
case, an adjustable, calibrated voltage source is
applied as a reference and the potentiometer
is adjusted until there is no voltage difference
between the reference and the unknown.
Categories of Measurement - Null
• Sample null measurement - Galvanometer
Factors in making measurements
• Error
• Validity
• Reliability and Repeatability
• Accuracy and Precision
• Resolution
Factors in making measurements - Error

• Refers to normal random variation, not to


mistakes.
• If measurements are made repeatedly on the
same parameter, the measurements will tend
to cluster around a central value.
• The error is how much the measured value
deviates from the assumed true value.
Factors in making measurements - Validity

• Refers to how well the instrument measures


what it’s supposed to measure.
Factors in making measurements –
Reliability and Repeatability
• Reliability: often confused with repeatability,
the reliability of an instrument describes its
consistency with evaluating the measurand on
successive attempts, where the value of the
measurand may change.
• Repeatability: These terms denote whether
the instrument has equal outputs given equal
inputs over a period of time.
Factors in making measurements – Accuracy
and Precision
• Accuracy: is a quantitative measure of the
absolute error relative to a NIST standard.
• Precision: Is a relative indicator of the number
of distinguishable alternatives from which a
measurement is selected. A precise
measurement has a small standard deviation
and variance under repeated trials.
Factors in making measurements – Accuracy
and Precision
Examples of differences between accuracy and
precision.
Factors in making measurements –
Resolution
• Resolution is an absolute indicator of the
smallest incremental change in the
measurement that can be reliably detected by
the instrument.
Categories of Error

• There are four general categories of error:


– Theoretical
– Static
– Dynamic
– Instrument insertion
Categories of Error - Theoretical

• All measurements are based on some measurement


theory that predicts how a value will behave when a
certain measurement procedure is applied.
• The measurement theory is usually based on some
theoretical model of the phenomenon being
measured, i.e., an intellectual construct that tells us
something of how that phenomenon works.
• It is often the case that the theoretical model is valid
only over a specified range of the phenomenon.
Categories of Error - Static

• Reading static errors: These include parallax reading


errors, interpolation error, and the last digit bobble
error.
• Environmental static errors: All sensors and instruments
operate in an environment that can affect the output
states (temperature, pressure, electromagnetic fields,
radiation, etc.)
• Characteristic static error: these are the errors left after
reading and environmental errors are accounted for.
Examples: repeatability error, resolution error,
manufacturing deficiencies, etc.
Categories of Error - Dynamic

• Arise when the measurand is changing or in


motion during the measurement process.
• Examples
– Equipment is moved or bumped
– Environment changes (turn lights on/off, door
opens, etc.)
Categories of Error – Instrument insertion

• This is when the measurement equipment


affects the value of the measurand.
• For example, when a poorly designed
voltmeter is inserted into an operational
circuit.

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