Biopotential Amplifiers Biopotential Amplifiers

ECGAmplifier
Basic Requirements BasicRequirements
Essentialfunctionofabiopotential amplifieristotakea
weakelectricsignalsofbiologicaloriginandincreaseits
amplifier
Theymusthavehighinputimpedancesothattheyprovide
minimalloadingtoavoiddistortionofthesignal.Typical
inputimpedancesare1M.
Inputcircuitmustprovideprotection.Nocurrentsmust
appearattheinputterminals.
Outputcircuitisprimarilyusedtodrivetheamplifierload
outputimpedanceshouldbelow. p p
Biopotential amplifiersmustbedesignedtobeoptimalina
particularfrequencyrangeasneededbythesignalto
obtainoptimalsignaltonoiseratios. p g
ECGRecordingSystem
Thefirststageisatransducer(AgCl electrode),which
i l i l l h l i i h convertECGintoelectricalvoltage. Thevoltageisinthe
rangeof1mV~5mV
The second stage is an instrumentation amplifier, which Thesecondstageisaninstrumentationamplifier,which
hasaveryhighCMRR(90dB)andhighgain(1000)
Optocouplertoisolatetheinputandoutputofamplifier
byconvertingtheelectricalsignaltolightandthenback
Bandpass filterof0.04Hzto150Hzfilter.Normally
implemented by cascading a lowpass filter and a high implementedbycascadingalow passfilterandahigh
passfilter.
CardiacVector
Heartgeneratesanelectricalsignal
Electricalactivityoftheheartcanbemodeledasan
electricdipolelocatedinaconductingmediumwhere
adipoleconsistsofpointsofequalpositiveand
negativechargeseparatedfromoneanotherandis
denotedbythedipolemoment
Thedipolemomentisavectorfromnegativecharge
topositivechargehavingthemagnitudeproportional
totheseparationofthesecharges.
Thisdipolemomentiscalledthecardiacvector,
representedbyM
Itsmagnitudeanddirectionvaryduringthecardiac
cycleasthedipolefieldvariesitself.
Thecardiacvectorindicatesthedirectionofthe
depolarizationintime.
Wewanttocapturethe
cardiacvectorMbylooking
t t t
Va
1
=M.a
1
=|M|cos
atvectorcomponents.
We can do that by
a
2
M
Wecandothatby
connectingleadsonthe
surfaceofthebodyto
d b l h
a
1

detectbiopotentials,then
thevoltagedifference
introduced in the lead is the
Figure 6 2 Relationships between the two lead

a1
+
introducedintheleadisthe
projectionofthecardiac
vector
Figure6.2Relationshipsbetweenthetwolead
vectorsa
1
anda
2
andthecardiacvectorM.The
componentofM inthedirectionofa
1
isgivenby
thedotproductofthesetwovectorsanddenoted
Aleadisdefinedasa
connection between 2
onthefigurebyv
al
.Leadvectora
2
isperpendicular
tothecardiacvector,sonovoltagecomponentis
seeninthislead.
connectionbetween2
electrodesplacedonthe
body
ExampleofLeads Eindhovenstriangle
Connectionbetween2
electrodes
Th i l d Theprimaryleadsare
LeadI:LAtoRA
Lead II: LL to RA LeadII:LLtoRA
LeadIII:LLtoLA
RL for ground RLforground
ForaleadIIsystemwhichis
verycommon,LLandRAare y ,
fedtotheinputsofthe
instrumentation
diff ti l lifi
I+III=II
differentialamplifier
I+III=II
ConceptofWilsonsCentralTerminal
Wilsonetal.suggestedtheuse
ofthecentralterminal asa
reference for measuring the referenceformeasuringthe
electrodepotentials
Thisreferencewasformedby
connectinga5kWresistor
fromthelimbelectrodetothe
common point commonpoint.
Wilsonsterminalisnotground
buttheaverageofthelimb
potentialswiththetotal
currentatthispointtobezero
There are other lead Thereareotherlead
configurationscalled
AugmentedLeads
OtherLeads Augmented
Forsignalaugmentation Disconnecttheunipolar
electrodeyouaremeasuringfromthewilsons y g
terminalandthenmeasure
ChestLeads
V1V6Chestleads
V3V4bestforseptal defects
Themostcommonlyused
clinicalECGsystem,the12
leadECGsystem,consistsof
the following 12 leads which thefollowing12leads,which
are:
I,II,III
aV
R
,aV
L
,aV
F
V
1
,V
2
,V
3
,V
4
,V
5
,V
6
ECGWave
ECGNominal
Data
wave Lead I Lead II Lead III wave LeadI LeadII LeadIII
P 0.015to0.12 0.000to0.19 0.073to0.13
Q 0.0to0.16 0.0to0.18 0.0to0.28
R 0 02 t 1 13 0 18 t 1 68 0 03 t 1 31 R 0.02to1.13 0.18to1.68 0.03to1.31
S 0.0to0.36 0.0to0.49 0.0to0.55
T 0.06to0.42 0.06to0.55 0.06to0.30
DesignofanECGcircuit
Rightleg
electrode
Driven
rightleg
circuit
Sensing
electrodes
Leadfail
detect
ADC Memory
Amplifier
protection
circuit
Lead
selector
Preamplifier
Auto Baseline
Isolated
Isolation
circuit
Driver
amplifier
Recorder
printer
Auto
calibration
Baseline
restoration
power
supply
Parallelcircuitsforsimultaneousrecordingsfromdifferentleads
Control
program
Microcomputer
Operator
display
Ke board
Figure6.7Blockdiagramofanelectrocardiograph
ECGanalysis
program
Keyboard
MainComponentsoftheECGCircuit
Preamplifier
InitialAmplification
NeedsveryhighI/Pimpedance
HighCMRR
Typically,itisa3opamp
Isolationcircuitry
BlockstheECGfrompowerline
frequencies
differentialamplifierwitha
gaincontrolswitch
eque c es
Drivenrightlegcircuit
Provides a reference point on the
DriverAmplifier
AmplificationoftheECGsignalfor
appropriate recording
Providesareferencepointonthe
bodyinsteadofground
appropriaterecording
PreamplifierDesign
DesignSpecifications g p
AmplificationRange:202000
FrequencyRange(0.05150Hz)
HighInputImpedance2.5M
Hi h CMRR (E 60dB) HighCMRR(Ex60dB)
Step1:SingleOpampDifferentialAmplifier
Forthisdifferentialamplifier
For a CMRR>60dB or CMRR>1000
V
OUT
=(V
1
V
2
)R
4
/R
3
ForaCMRR>60dBorCMRR>1000
G
d/
G
c
>1000
G
d
isgovernedbyR4/R3ifwechoose
R4=47K and R3=10K G
d
=4 7 and R4 47KandR3 10K,G
d
4.7and
G
c
=0.0047whichisgoodCommon
Moderejection.WecanreplaceR4in
thiscircuitbyapotentiometerto y p
adjusttoincreasecommonmode
rejection.
PreamplifierDesignCont.
Step2:Considerthe2opampstageanddesign
itforhighgain
V
OUT
= (V
1
V
2
)(1+2R
2
/R
1
) V
OUT
Gain= 1+2R
2
/R
1
If we choose R2=22K and R1=10K then If we choose R2 22K and R1 10K, then
gain=(1+(2*22)/10))=5.4
PreamplifierDesignCont.
Step3:Cascadethe2opampstagewiththe
differential amplifier differentialamplifier
TotalGainoftheinstrumentationamplifier
=4.7*5.4~25
V
OUT
= (V
1
V
2
)(1 + 2R
2
/R
1
)(R
4
/R
3
)
PreamplifierwithFiltering
STEP5
LowPass
f=1/(2*pi*RC)~106Hz
Truncates Truncates
frequencies>106Hz
Noninvertingamplifier
Gain=(1+150K/4.7K)~32
STEP6
( / )
TotalGain=25*32=800
HighPass=RC=3.3s
f=1/(2*pi*RC)~0.05Hz
STEP4
Passes
frequencies>0.05Hz
Someadditionaldesignconsiderations
Highgainstagesearlyinthesignalpath.
However,theHighPassFilterstage
shouldbeplacedimmediatelyafterthe
d ff l l f h ff h differentialamplifiertochopofftheDC
componentofitsoutput.Otherwise,this
DCcomponentwillbeamplifiedbythe
gainstageandmaysaturatethe g g y
followingopamps
ItsgainisdeterminedbytheresistorRg.
2
nd
orderfilterSalleyKeyhighpassfilter
Power line 120 V
InterferencefromElectricDevices Powerline
interference
ProblemswithECG.
Powerline 120V
C
3
C
1
C
2
Thereiselectricfieldcoupling
betweenthepowerlineandthelead
wires and/or ECG amplifier. This
interference
A
B
Z
1
Z
2
I
d1
I
d2
wiresand/orECGamplifier.This
couplingismodeledasacapacitor.It
causesacurrenttoflowfromthe
powerlinethroughtheskinelectrode
Electrocardiograph
G
impedancethroughthebodyto
ground.Bodyimpedanceislow~
500.HencethevoltageV
A
V
B
=
Z
G
I
d1+
I
d2
Id
1
*Z
1
Id
2
*Z
2
.Iftheelectrodesare
placedclosetogetherthecurrentsare
approximatelythesame.V
A
V
B
=
Id *(Z Z ) ~120V if Id is in nA and
Figure6.10 Amechanismofelectric
fieldpickupofanelectrocardiograph
resultingfromthepowerline.Coupling
capacitancebetweenthehotsideof
Id
1
*(Z
1
Z
2
)~120VifId
1
isinnA and
differenceofZ1Z2isinK.Thisis
quitehigh.
This can be minimized by shielding
thepowerlineandleadwirescauses
currenttoflowthroughskinelectrode
impedancesonitswaytoground.
Thiscanbeminimizedbyshielding
theleadsandgroundingeachshield
attheECGunit.Alsoloweringskin
electrodeimpedancesmayhelp.
Powerline 120V
Thereisalsoapossibilityofcurrentfromthepowerline
ProblemswithECG.
C
b
i
db
toflowthroughthebodyasshowncausingacommon
modelvoltagetoappearinthesignal.
The magnitude of this signal is V =i *Z Typical values
Electrocardiograph
A
Z
in
Z
1

cm
B

cm
ThemagnitudeofthissignalisV
cm
=i
db
Z
G
.Typicalvalues
are10mVfori
db
=0.2AandZ
G
=50K.
Foraperfectamplifierthisisnoproblemasthe
Z
2
B
G
Z
in

cm
differentialamplifierwithrejectthecommonmode
signal.Butforrealamplifierswithfiniteinput
impedance,thereissomeV
cm
thatappearsinthe
output
Z
G
i
db
output.
V
A
V
B
=V
cm
((Z
2
Z
1
)/Z
in
)ifZ
1
andZ
2
are<<Z
in
.
h k l d d b l
Figure6.11 Currentflowsfromthe
powerlinethroughthebodyand
d i d th ti
Hencetheskinelectrodeimpedancesbecomecriticalin
thedesignofthebiopotential amplifiers.Anyimbalance
intheinputcontributetothecommonmodesignal.
groundimpedance,thuscreatinga
commonmodevoltageeverywhereon
thebody.
Henceweneedtokeepinputimpedancehigh
Andskinelectrodeimpedanceequaltoremovecommon
modevoltagessuchaspowerline interference
ProblemswithECGCont.
Othersourcesof
interference interference
Magneticfieldpickup
EMG i t f EMGinterference
Figure6.12Magneticfieldpickupby
theelctrocardiograph (a)Leadwiresfor
leadImakeaclosedloop(shadedarea)
whenpatientandelectrocardiograph
Figure6.9 (a)60Hzpowerline
interference (b) Electrom ographic
areconsideredinthecircuit.The
changeinmagneticfieldpassing
throughthisareainducesacurrentin
theloop.(b)Thiseffectcanbe
interference.(b)Electromyographic
interferenceontheECG.
minimizedbytwistingtheleadwires
togetherandkeepingthemclosetothe
bodyinordertosubtendamuch
smallerarea.
ProblemswithTransients
ToprotecttheECGcircuitagainsthighvoltagesweneedvoltage
limitingcircuitry.
These occur for example in the operating room when the ECG is TheseoccurforexampleintheoperatingroomwhentheECGis
combinedwiththeuseofanelectrosurgicalunitthatwillinduce
hightransientvoltagesintothepatient.
Voltage limiting devices such as diodes are used for protecting the Voltagelimitingdevicessuchasdiodesareusedforprotectingthe
ECGcircuitryandareconnectedbetweentheleadandRLground.
Figure 6 14 Voltagelimiting devices (a) Current Figure6.14Voltage limitingdevices(a)Current
voltagecharacteristicsofavoltagelimiting
device.(b)Parallelsilicondiodevoltagelimiting
circuit.(c)BacktobacksiliconZenerdiode
Figure6.13Avoltageprotectionscheme
attheinputofanelectrocardiograph
OtherProblemsfrequently
encountered with the ECG encounteredwiththeECG
FrequencyDistortion:Highfrequency
distortion RoundingofftheQRS
waveform and diminishing its waveformanddiminishingits
amplitude.Lowfrequencydistortion
baselineisnolongerhorizontalafteran
event.
Saturationorcutoffdistortion High
offsetvoltagesandimproperlyadjusted
amplifierscanproducesaturatedECGs.
Peaks of the QRS are cutoff
Figure6.8Effectofavoltagetransientonan
ECGrecordedonanelectrocardiographin
whichthetransientcausestheamplifierto
saturate,andafiniteperiodoftimeis
PeaksoftheQRSarecutoff
GroundLoops If1groundof1device
ishigherthantheECGground,a
currentwillflowthroughthepatient
requiredforthechargetobleedoffenough
tobringtheECGbackintotheamplifiers
activeregionofoperation.Thisisfollowedby
afirstorderrecoveryofthesystem.
g p
presentingasafetyproblemaswellas
elevatingthepatientsbodypotential
projectingerroneousvoltagesinthe
ECG
ArtifactsfromLargeTransients
Causealargeabruptdeflectioninthe
ECG,takelongtimeforrecoverydue
ECG
tothelargechargebuiltupinthe
capacitors.
Commonmodereductioncircuits
Commonmodesignalfromthebodyor
powerlineisaproblem.Eventhough
theamplifierwillhelpineliminating
i
d
R
+

3
thesebecauseofthehighCMRR,we
cantrytoeliminatethecommonmodel
signalatthesource.Forinstance
l d f ld k
R
a
R
a
+

ElectricandMagneticfieldpickupcan
beminimizedbyelectrostaticshielding
andtwistingofleadwires.
h l i i h i i h
R
R
f
R
o
Auxiliary
opamp
+

+
RL

cm
AnothersolutionistheDrivenRightLeg
SystemwheretheRLelectrodeis
connectedtotheO/Pofanauxiliary
opamp The common mode signal
R
RL
p p
opamp.Thecommonmodesignal
sensedbythevoltagefollowersis
amplifiedandfedbacktothebody
raising the RL potential This negative raisingtheRLpotential.Thisnegative
feedbackcausestheoutputcommon
modesignaltobelow.
Designconsiderations withother
amplifiers p
Figure6.16Voltageandfrequencyrangesofsomecommonbiopotentialsignals;dc
potentialsincludeintracellularvoltagesaswellasvoltagesmeasuredfromseveral
pointsonthebody.EOGistheelectrooculogram,EEGistheelctroencephalogram,ECG
istheelectrocardiogram,EMGistheelectromyogram,andAAPistheaxonaction
potential.
EMGAmplifier BasicsandDesign
EMG stands for electromyogram EMGstandsforelectromyogram
Itismeasurementofelectricalpotentialscreatedbythecontractionof
muscles.
Musclesgeneratevoltagesaround100mVwhentheycontract.These
lt tl tt t d b i t l ti d th ki d th voltagesaregreatlyattenuatedbyinternaltissueandtheskin,andthey
areweakbutmeasurableatthesurfaceoftheskin.
TypicalsurfaceEMGsignalsforlargemuscles,suchasthebicep,are
around12mVinamplitude.
EMGsignalscontainfrequenciesrangingfrom10Hzorlowerupto1kHz
orhigher.
ToobserveanEMGsignal,weneedtobuildadifferentialamplifierwith
high commonmode rejection highcommonmoderejection
Thedominantcommonmodevoltagesignalsonourbodiesisusuallya60
Hzsinewavethatiscapacitively coupledtousfromthe120VACwiringin
thewalls.
Werejectthissignalbylookingatthedifferenceinvoltagebetweentwo
nearbypointsontheskinoverthemuscleofinterest.
Wewillalsowanttouseacircuitthedrawsnearlyzerocurrentfromthe
inputleads,sincedccurrentpassedthroughEMGelectrodescanleadto p , p g
largedcoffsetsanddegradethelongtermusefulnessoftheelectrodes.
WecanbuildanEMGcircuitusinganinstrumentationamplifierwithopamps suchas
LM741andLM324(BJTdevicesinputcurrentsof100500nA)orTL084devicewithJFETs
inputcurrents<0.2nA ordeviceswithMOSFETS(lowerinputcurrents,buttheygenerally
exhibit higher levels of noise) TL084 is identical to that of the LM324 in the pin diagram exhibithigherlevelsofnoise).TL084isidenticaltothatoftheLM324inthepindiagram
Forsafetythebestmethodistoconnecttwo9Vbatteriesforpowersupply
Youcandesigntheinstrumentationamplifier(3opamp one)wediscussedinclass.For
example you can set a gain of 201 Gain is (1 +2R /R )(R /R ) exampleyoucansetagainof201.Gainis
Wecanusevalueslike10KforallresistorsexceptR2and1MforR2togetanoverall
gainof201.Youcanmeasuretheoverallgainofyourcircuitbyapplyingasmallamplitude
1KHzsinewavefromafunctiongenerator.Youcanessentiallyplotgainoverfrequencyfor
(1 + 2R
2
/R
1
)(R
4
/R
3
)
varyingI/Pfrequency.
ToobserveanEMGweneedEMGelectrodes.Wecansticktwooftheseelectrodesonthe
muscleofinterest(ex.bicep,closetoeachotherbutnotoverlapping).The3
rd
electrode
b t k t th b i lb f th d th t i t d t d i canbestucktotheboneinyourelbowofthesamearmandthatisconnectedtogroundin
theEMGcircuit.Connectyourelbowtocircuitground.Thiswillkeepyourbodypotential
nearyourcircuitsgroundpotential.Sincetherearenomusclesatyourelbowtogenerate
electricpotentials,thisisagoodgroundingpoint.Connecttheothertwoelectrodestothe p , g g g p
inputoftheopamp andobservetheresponseontheoscilloscopebyflexingthebicep.
Amplitudesvisualizedshouldbe100300mV.ToavoidanyDCoffsetsfromtheelectrodes
wecanaddhighpassfiltertotheinstrumentationamplifier.Withcutoffaround10Hz