SIGNAL CONDITIONING AND
PROCESSING IN BIOMEDICAL DEVICES
MEBC 1003
BIOMEDICAL MEASUREMENT
TECHNIQUE
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Overview:
• Introduction to signal conditioning in biomedical systems.
• Importance of accurate signal acquisition and processing.
• Key topics: Amplification, filtering, noise reduction, ADC, sampling, DSP,
and FFT.
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Data Acquisition (DAQ) Systems
• A system that collects, digitizes, and processes data from various
biomedical sensors.
• Components include sensors, signal conditioning circuits, ADC, and data
storage.
Applications in Biomedical Devices:
• ECG Monitoring: Collects and digitizes heart signals for display and analysis.
• Continuous Glucose Monitoring: Tracks glucose levels and transmits data
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for analysis.
Data Acquisition System Block Diagram
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Signal Conditioning Techniques
• Signal conditioning prepares raw signals from sensors for analysis and
interpretation.
• It enhances the signal quality, adjusts levels, and isolates unwanted
components.
• Essential in biomedical devices like ECGs, EEGs, and blood pressure
monitors to ensure accurate readings.
Examples of Signal Conditioning:
• Amplifying a weak ECG signal for better analysis.
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• Filtering out high-frequency noise in EEG measurements.
Amplification in Biomedical Signal Processing
• Increases the amplitude of weak biomedical signals
(e.g., ECG, EEG) to usable levels.
Critical for signals in the microvolt to millivolt range
that need to be detected by processing systems.
Types of Amplifiers:
• Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps): Widely used
due to high gain and stability.
Instrumentation Amplifiers: Provide high precision
and are ideal for differential measurements, like
ECG and EEG.
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Filtering Techniques in Signal Conditioning
• Removes unwanted noise and interference from biomedical signals.
• Preserves the frequency range of interest for accurate analysis.
Types of Filters:
• Low-Pass Filter: Passes signals below a set frequency, removing high-frequency
noise (e.g., for ECG signals).
• High-Pass Filter: Removes low-frequency components like baseline drift in ECG
signals.
• Band-Pass Filter: Passes a range of frequencies and rejects frequencies outside
that range (e.g., used in EMG to capture specific muscle signals).
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• Notch Filter: Removes narrowband interference, such as power line noise at
50/60 Hz.
Isolation in Biomedical Signal Conditioning
What is Isolation?
• Prevents unwanted electrical interactions between different parts of a
measurement system, ensuring patient safety.
• Essential for devices that interface directly with the human body (e.g.,
defibrillators, ECG machines).
Techniques:
• Optical Isolation: Uses light signals to transfer data between isolated sections.
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• Transformer Isolation: Uses electromagnetic induction to isolate electrical circuits.
Noise Reduction Techniques
Why Noise Reduction is Important:
• Biomedical signals are often contaminated by noise from external sources (e.g., power lines,
muscle movement).
• Reducing noise improves the clarity and accuracy of physiological measurements.
Techniques:
• Shielding: Surrounds cables and sensors with conductive material to block electromagnetic
interference.
• Grounding: Provides a common reference point to minimize voltage fluctuations and reduce
noise.
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Example:
• Grounding an EEG system to reduce interference from electrical equipment in the room.
Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
• Converts continuous analog signals from sensors into discrete digital data for
processing.
• A device that transforms a continuous-time signal measured with a transducer
into a digital signal that can be represented in a computer.
• Necessary for digital systems to process, store, and analyze biomedical signals.
Steps in ADC:
• Sampling: Converts the analog signal into discrete time intervals.
• Quantization: Approximates the continuous values into discrete levels.
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• Encoding: Converts the quantized values into a digital binary form.
Analog to digital conversion (ADC)
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• The most significant criteria when selecting A/D hardware are:
1. Number of input channels
2. Single-ended or differential input signals
3. Sampling rate (in samples per second)
4. Resolution (usually measured in bits of resolution)
5. Input range (specified in full-scale volts)
6. Noise and nonlinearity
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A/D Converter:
Sampling Rate
Determines how often conversions take
place.
The higher the sampling rate, the better.
Analog 16
8
4 Samples/cycle
Samples/cycle
Samples/cycle
Input
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A/D Converter:
Throughput
Effective rate of each individual channel is
inversely proportional to the number of channels
sampled.
Example:
• 100 KHz maximum.
• 16 channels.
100 KHz/16 = 6.25 KHz per channel.
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A/D Converter:
Range
• Minimum and maximum voltage levels that the
A/D converter can quantize
Ranges are selectable (either
hardware or software) to
accurately measure the signal
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A/D Converter:
Resolution
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ADC Accuracy and Resolution
• Ideal Conversion
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ADC Accuracy and Resolution
• Gain Error
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ADC Accuracy and Resolution
• Linearity Error
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ADC Accuracy and Resolution
• Missing Code
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ADC Accuracy and Resolution
• Offset error
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Sampling
• Sampling is the process of
reading the amplitude of the
continuous-time analog signal
waveform one sample every
sampling period 𝑇𝑇.
• Analog signal 𝑥𝑥(𝑡𝑡) is sampled
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to get the discrete-time signal
𝑥𝑥(𝑛𝑛)
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Ideal Sampling Process
Impulse train 𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡
Figure 1 sequence 𝑠𝑠(𝑡𝑡)
𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡
Digital signal
Figure 2 𝑥𝑥(𝑛𝑛)
Close and open the switch
every 𝑇𝑇 switching period.
𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡 × 𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑡
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Figure 3
Continuous Sampled signal
time signal 𝑥𝑥(𝑡𝑡) 𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠 (𝑡𝑡)
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Sampling
• Sampling: Numerical evaluate the signal at discrete
distance in time, yk=y(k∆t)
• Sampling time/Period: time duration between two
consecutive samples, ∆t
• Sampling rate (Hz): 1/∆t
• Nyquist Frequency: 2fmax
• Sampling theory: fs > Nyquist Frequency. Must sample
at a rate at least twice the highest frequency present
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in the signal (including noise).
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Sampling
The graph illustrates the concept of sampling:
Continuous Signal (blue line): This represents the original analog signal
that varies smoothly over time.
Discrete Samples (red dots): These are the values taken from the
continuous signal at regular time intervals (Δt). Each red dot is a sample
point yk=y(kΔt), where k is an integer representing the sample number.
• The distance between two red dots is the sampling period (Δt). The
sampling rate is the reciprocal of the sampling period (fs=1/Δt) indicating
how often the signal is sampled per second.
• By sampling the continuous signal at regular intervals, we convert it into a
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set of discrete points, which can then be used for digital processing.
Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
• Refers to the manipulation of digitized signals to improve their quality or
extract meaningful information.
• Used for further filtering, noise reduction, and analysis of signals after ADC.
Techniques in DSP:
• Digital Filtering: Removes noise using FIR or IIR filters.
• Smoothing: Reduces variations in the signal using moving average filters.
• Artifact Removal: Removes unwanted components like motion artifacts
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from physiological signals (e.g., ECG).
Summary and Conclusion
• Signal conditioning techniques like amplification, filtering, and noise
reduction.
• Importance of ADC and sampling in converting analog signals.
• Role of DSP in analyzing biomedical data.
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