03.

Biosignal Measurement

EB2101- Dasar Teknik Biomedis

Program Studi Teknik Biomedis - Sekolah Teknik Elektro & Informatika
Institut Teknologi Bandung
General Biosignal Instrumentation System
 Biosignal Characteristics

• Biopotential (electric) and non-biopotential signals

Outline

• Biopotentials
• Introduction to biopotentials
• Common biopotentials
• ECG, EEG, EMG, EOG
• Electrical Measurements
• Measurement considerations
• Noise
• Safety considerations
• Electrodes
Biopotential
Signals
What are biopotentials
Biopotential: An electric potential that is measured between points in living cells,
tissues, and organisms, and which accompanies all biochemical processes.
• Also describes the transfer of information between and within cells
Mechanism behind biopotentials
• Concentration of potassium (K+) ions is 30-50 times
higher inside as compared to outside
• Sodium ion (Na+) concentration is 10 times higher
outside the membrane than inside
• In resting state the member is permeable only for
potassium ions
 Potassium flows outwards leaving an equal number
of negative ions inside
 Electrostatic attraction pulls potassium and chloride
ions close to the membrane
 Electric field directed inward forms
 Electrostatic force vs. diffusional force
• Nernst equation:
RT ci ,k
Vk   ln
zk F co,k
• Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation:

RT PK ci , K  PNaci , Na  PCl ci ,Cl

Vm   ln Vm  70...  100 mV
zk F PK ci , K  PNaci , Na  PCl ci ,Cl
Mechanism behind biopotentials

• When membrane stimulation exceeds a threshold level of about 20 mV, so

called action potential occurs:
1. Sodium and potassium ionic permeabilities of the membrane change
2. Sodium ion permeability increases very rapidly at first, allowing sodium ions
to flow from outside to inside, making the inside more positive
3. The more slowly increasing potassium ion permeability allows potassium
ions to flow from inside to outside, thus returning membrane potential to its
resting value
4. While at rest, the Na-K pump restores the ion concentrations to their original
values
• The number of ions flowing through an open channel >106/sec

• Body is an inhomogeneous volume conductor and these ion fluxes create

measurable potentials on body surface
Mechanism behind biopotentials
Mechanism behind biopotentials
Electrocardiography (ECG)
• Measures the electric activity of the heart
• Well known and traditional, first measurements by
Augustus Waller using capillary electrometer (1887)
• Very widely used method in clinical environment
• Very high diagnostic value

2. Ventricular 3. Ventricular repolarization

depolarization

1. Atrial
depolarization
ECG basics
• Measures the electrical activity of the
heart

• Amplitude: 1-5 mV
• Bandwidth: 0.05-100 Hz

• Errors:
• Motion artifacts
• 50/60 Hz powerline interference

• Typical applications:
• Diagnosis of ischemia
• Arrhythmia
• Conduction defects
12-Lead ECG measurement
• Most widely used ECG measurement setup in clinical environment
• Signal is measured non-invasively with 9 electrodes
• 3 orthogonal leads (R, L, F) and 6 precordial leads (V1-V6)
• Lots of measurement data and international reference databases
• Well-known measurement and diagnosis practices

Einthoven leads: I, II & III Goldberger augmented leads: VR, VL & VF Precordial leads: V1-V6
Electroencephalography (EEG)
• Measures the brain’s electric
activity from the scalp
• Measured signal results from
the activity of billions of neurons

• Amplitude: 0.001-0.01 mV
• Bandwidth: 0.5-40 Hz

• Errors:
• Thermal RF noise
• 50/60 Hz power lines
• Blink artifacts and similar

• Typical applications:
• Sleep studies
• Seizure detection
• Cortical mapping
EEG measurement setup
• 10-20 Lead system is most
widely clinically accepted
• Certain physiological features
are used as reference points
• Allow localization of diagnostic
features in the vicinity of the
electrode
• Often a readily available wire or
rubber mesh is used
• Brain research utilizes even 256
or 512 channel EEG hats
Electromyography (EMG)
• Measures the electric activity of active muscle fiber groups
• Electrodes are always connected very close to the muscle
group being measured
• Needle electrodes is used to measure individual muscle fibers

• Amplitude: 1-10 mV
• Bandwidth: 20-2000 Hz

• Errors:
• 50/60 Hz
• RF interference

• Applications:
• muscle function,
• neuromuscular disease,
• prosthesis
EMG measurement setup

back front
BF: biceps femoris
LG: lateral gastrocnemius
TA: tibialis anterior
RF: rectus femoris
Electrooculography (EOG)
• Electric potentials are created as a result of the movement of the eyeballs
• Potential varies in proportion to the amplitude of the movement

• Amplitude: 0.01-0.1 mV
• Bandwidth: DC-10 Hz

• Errors:
• skin potential
• motion

• Applications:
• eyeball position,
• sleep state,
• vestibulo-ocular reflex
 Biosignal
Measurements

SQUID = Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

Biopotential signals vs noise
The biopotential amplifier

• Small amplitudes, low frequencies, environmental and biological sources

of interference etc.
• Essential requirements for measurement equipment:
• High amplification
• High differential gain, low common mode gain  high CMRR
• High input impedance
• Low Noise
• Stability against temperature and voltage fluctuations
• Electrical safety, isolation and defibrillation protection
The Instrumentation Amplifier
• Potentially combines the best features desirable for biopotential measurements
• High differential gain, low common mode gain, high CMRR, high input resistance
• A key design component to almost all biopotential measurements!
• Simple and cheap

R2 R4
G1  1  2 G2  
R1 R3

CMRR fine tuning

Application-specific requirements
• ECG amplifier
• Lower corner frequency 0.05 Hz, upper 100Hz
• Safety and protection: leakage current below safety standard limit of 10 uA
• Electrical isolation from the power line and the earth ground
• Protection against high defibrillation voltages
• EEG amplifier
• Gain must deal with microvolt or lower levels of signals
• Components must have low thermal and electronic noise @ the front end
• Otherwise similar to ECG
• EMG amplifier
• Slightly enhanced amplifier BW suffices
• Post-processing circuits are almost always needed (e.g. rectifier + integrator)
• EOG amplifier
• High gain with very good low frequency (or even DC) response
• DC-drifting  electrodes should be selected with great care
• Often active DC or drift cancellation or correction circuit may be necessary
Noise Source

• Environment Interference
• Powerline (“jala-jala”)
• Radio-frequency (RF)
• Artifacts
• Electrode offset
• Respiratory
• Movement
Power Line Interference
ECG with Power Line Interference
Power Line Interference Reduction
• Connects capacitively and causes common mode interference (50/60 Hz)
• The common mode interference would be completely rejected by the instrumentation
amplifier if the matching would be ideal
• Often a clever “driven right leg circuit” is used to further enhance CMRR
Average VCM is inverted and driven back to the body via reference electrode for
active cancellation

iD R0
VCM  iD R0 VCM 
R2
1 2
R1
Power Line Interference: 50 or 60 Hz notch filter

• Sometimes it may be desirable to remove the power line interference

• Overlaps with the measurement bandwidth
May distort the measurement result and have an affect on the diagnosis!
• Option often available with EEG & EOG measuring instruments

Determines
notch
frequency

Twin T
Notch
notch filter tuning
Radio Frequency Interference
• Caused by transmitters, motors, and any RF devices
• Very high frequency noise; small amplitude
• Remedy:
• Pre-filter (multistages) before and after instrumentation amplifier
• Isolation room during measurement (Faraday Cage)

Small inductors Low-pass filtering

or ferrite beads
High-pass filter at several stages
RF filtering
in theDC with
leaddrifting
wires
to reject is recommended to
smallHF
block capacitors
frequency attenuate residual
EM interference RF interference
Radio Frequency Interference
Artifacts
• Baseline “drift”
• Electrode offset (potential changes because of electrode-skin contact)
• Respiratory activities
• Movement artifacts
• Baseline drift can be removed by discharging the high-pass capacitor in the
amplifier to restore the baseline

Electrode offset

Movement artifacts

Respiratory artifacts
ECG with Respiratory Artifact
Safety Issues

• Leakage current
• Microshock & macroshock
• Electrical & optical isolation
• Common ground
• High-voltage protection (defibrillator)
Leakage Current: micro-shock & macro-shock
Macroshock Threshold
Macro-shock
Micro-shock
Electrical isolation

• Electrical isolation limits the possibility of

passage of any leakage current from the
instrument in use to the patient:
• Create barrier between patient circuit
& power supply/analysis circuit
Transformer
• No current flows through barrier

Optical Isolation
Common Grounding
Defibrillation Protection

• Measuring instruments can encounter very high voltages

• E.g. 1500…5000V shocks from defibrillator
• Front-end must be designed to withstand these high voltages

1. Resistors in the input

leads limit the current
3. Protection against
much higher voltages
2. Diodes or Zener diodes is achieved with
protect against high low-pressure gas
voltages discharge tubes
(e.g. neon lamps)
Discharge @ 0.7-15V
(note: even isolation
components such as
transformers and
optical isolators need
these spark gaps)
Discharge @ ~100V
Electrodes

• Basic elements
• Types:
• Ag-AgCl
• Gold
• Metal
Electrodes – Basics
• High-quality biopotential measurements require
• Good amplifier design
• Use of good electrodes and their proper placement on the patient
• Good laboratory and clinical practices
• Electrodes should be chosen according to the application
• Basic electrode structure includes:
• The body and casing
• Electrode made of high-conductivity material
• Wire connector
• Cavity or similar for electrolytic gel
• Adhesive rim
Electrodes - Basics
• Skin preparation by abrasion or cleansing
• Placement close to the source being measured
• Placement above bony structures where there is less muscle mass
• Distinguishing features of different electrodes:
• How secure? The structure and the use of strong but less irritant adhesives
• How conductive? Use of noble metals vs. cheaper materials
• How prone to artifact? Use of low-junction-potential materials such as Ag-AgCl
• If electrolytic gel is used, how is it applied? High conductivity gels can help reduce the
junction potentials and resistance but tend to be more allergenic or irritating

Baseline drift due to the

changes in junction
potential or motion artifacts
Choice of electrodes Muscle signal
interference
 Placement
Electromagnetic
interference
 Shielding
Ag-AgCl, Silver-Silver Chloride Electrodes

• The most commonly used electrode type

• Silver is interfaced with its salt silver-chloride
• Choice of materials helps to reduce junction potentials
• Junction potentials are the result of the dissimilar electrolytic
interfaces
• Electrolytic gel enhances conductivity and also reduces
junction potentials
• Typically based on sodium or potassium chloride,
concentration in the order of 0.1 M weak enough to not
irritate the skin
• The gel is typically soaked into a foam pad or applied
directly in a pocket produced by electrode housing
• Relatively low-cost and general purpose electrode
• Particularly suited for ambulatory or long term use
Gold Electrodes
• Very high conductivity  suitable for low-noise meas.
• Inertness  suitable for reusable electrodes
• Body forms cavity which is filled with electrolytic gel
• Compared to Ag-AgCL: greater expense, higher
junction potentials and motion artifacts
• Often used in EEG, sometimes in EMG

Conductive polymer electrodes

• Made out of material that is simultaneously conductive and adhesive
• Polymer is made conductive by adding monovalent metallic ions
• Aluminum foil allows contact to external instrumentation
• No need for gel or other adhesive substance
• High resistivity makes unsuitable for low-noise meas.
• Not as good connection as with traditional electrodes
Metal or carbon electrodes
• Other metals are seldom used as high-quality noble
metal electrodes or low-cost carbon or polymeric
electrodes are so readily available
• Historical value. Bulky and awkward to use
• Carbon electrodes have high resistivity and are noisier
but they are also flexibleand reusable
• Applications in electrical stimulation and impedance plethysmography

Needle electrodes
• Obviously invasive electrodes
• Used when measurements have to be taken from the organ itself
• Small signals such as motor unit potentials can be measured
• Needle is often a steel wire with hooked tip