Chapter 1 Intro

Op-Amp
Ideal Op-Amp
1. No input current
2. V+=V-
Remember max output of amplifier is the voltage supplied at V cc
Unity-Gain Amplifier

VO
Closed loop gain: =1
Vi
Non-Inverting Amplifier

RF
V O =(1+ )V
R1 i
Inverting Amplifier

−R F
V O= (V i )
R1
Difference Amplifier

V
−¿=V 2
( RF
R 1+ R F)=V + ¿¿ ¿
 V +¿ V +¿−V
V 1− = ¿¿ O

R1 RF
V 1 V +¿ V +¿ V O
− = − ¿¿
R1 R 1 R F RF
V O V +¿ V +¿ V 1
= + − ¿¿
R F RF R 1 R 1
VO
=V 1 1 1
RF +¿
( R + R )− R V ¿
F 1 1
1

(
V O = 1+
RF
)V
R1 +¿− RR F

1
V1¿

V O=
( R1 + R F
R1 )( RF
R1 + R F ) R
V 2− F V 1
R1

V O=
( ) RF
R1
RF
V 2− V 1
R1

V O=
( )
RF
R1
(V ¿ ¿ 2−V 1)¿

Active analog filters

Low-pass High-pass Band-pass Notch

Transition between stopband and passband is not transient, it requires some time

Measurement Specification
Range
Region between limits where a variable is measured

Span
Difference between lower and upper range limits

Example: Thermometer
Range: 35°C ~ 42°C
Span: 42 – 35 = 7°C
Sensitivity
Change in output of an instrument because of a change in input
 Change∈output
Sensitivity=
Change∈input

Example: Wheatstone bridge

R2 RT R 1 R3
When bridge is balanced: = , = =c
R 1+ R 2 R 3 + R T R 2 R T

Change in input, ∆ RT
c ∆ RT
Change in output, ∆ V ≈− 2
E
(1+c) RT

∆V −c
Sensitivity, ∆ R = E
T (1+ c)2 R T
c
Differentiate to get c = 1 for max sensitivity
(1+c )2
Resolution
Smallest change that can be detected in the instrument reading

Errors
Absolute Error = |True value – Measured Value|
( Absolute Error) True−Measured Value
Relative Error =| |=| |
True Value True Value
Percentage Error = Relative Error x 100%
Accuracy
The maximum possible error

Sum, difference, product, and division of accuracy

Total absolute error is just the sum of each individual accuracy

Signals and Noise

Signal
Component of a variable which contains information about the measured quantity

Noise
Component unrelated to measurand quantity in measurement

Signal-noise ratio
V Signal
SNR=20 log 10 (dB)
V Noise
 How to improve SNR?
Take an average for N repetitive signal
V
SNR N =20 log 10 Signal
V Noise
√N
N = number of reps

Biostatistics
Mean Standard deviation
∑ Xi ∑
√
2
X= ( X i− X)
n S=
n−1

Confusion matrix parameters

Sensitivity Specificity Prevalence

TP TN TP+ FN
TP+ FN TN + FP TN+ TP+ FN + FP

Receiver Operating Characteristics

Correlation coefficient

r=
∑ ( X i− X ) ( Y i−Y )
√ √
∑ ( X i−X ) 2 ∑ ( Y i−Y )2
-1 represent negative correlation
+1 represent positive correlation
0 represent no correlation
Chapter 2 Pressure, Displacement, Flow and Temperature
Resistive sensors
Potentiometers
Translational Single turn Multi-turn

Strain gage
 Resistance changes based on strain due to change in diameter, length, and
resistivity
 Change in resistance can be used to measure small displacements
ρL
R=
A
R – resistance
ρ – density
A – cross sectional area
L – length
∆D ∆L
 Poisson’s ratio μ related change in diameter to change in length, =-μ
D L
∆L
 Change in resistance is a function of change in dimension ( ), area (
L
∆L ∆ρ
−2 μ ), and resistivity ( )
L ρ
∆R ∆ρ
R ρ
G= =( 1+ 2 μ ) +
∆L ∆ρ
L ρ
G – gage factor
  Example of Wheatstone bridge with 4 active elements
 Resistor Ry and potentiometer Rx are used to balance the bridge
 a and b , c and d are pairs that will be stretched in opposite direction
 Vi is applied and Vo is the output
Capacitive sensors
 A capacitor consists of 2 conductive plates of same area separated by
distance d with dielectric ε
εA
C=
d
Piezoelectric sensor
 Piezoelectric sensor produce electric charge when pressure is applied
 Some commonly used crystals are
o Quarts
o Rochelle salt
o PZT (lead zirconium titanate)
 Piezoelectric sensors are used in tonometer to measure fluid pressure in eye
and ultrasound transducers
 Charge produced is directly proportional to force applied
q=kf
q – charge
k – piezoelectric constant
f – force
 Assume device acts like a capacitor where voltage is charge q divided by
capacitance c, voltage can be calculated using
q kf kf
V= = = d
c c εA
Flow measurement
  Flow is rate at which a volume crosses a surface
 Unit of volume flow rate is m3/s
 Electromagnetic flowmeter is based on the principal that when a fluid
containing electric charge flows in a magnetic field, an electromotive force is
generated
 In electrolyte solution, such as blood flowing across a magnetic field, positive
and negative charges will move in opposite directions

πU d 2 πVd
Q= =
4 4B
Q – flow rate m3/s
B – Tesla
d – diameter
v – voltage
U – velocity
Temperature
 Thermocouple contains 2 junctions made using dissimilar metals
 These 2 junctions will be placed at 2 different temperatures
 1 will be placed at a reference temperature like an ice bath
 The other will be placed at the object of interest
 Potential difference between 2 junctions can be measured and temperature of
object of interest can be obtained

 Another device is the thermistor

 Act as variable resistors that change resistance value when subjected to heat
(T o−T ) 1 1
β ( − )β
( T T o) T T0
R ( t )=R ( t o ) e =R(T o ) e

β – material constant
T o – reference temperature

R ( t o ) – thermistor resistance at reference temperature

 T – temperature of object
Chapter 3 Electrical safety
Types of shocks
Macroshock Microshock
Shock when hot and neutral wire are in Shock due to current directly passing
contact with limbs through the heart

Leakage current
 Defined as low-value electrical current ( μA ¿ that inherently flows from
energized electrical portion of appliance to metal chassis
 Current is not due to a fault but the natural consequence of electrical wiring
and components
 Usually in the form of capacitive leakage current

 Catheter inserted inside heart of patient can have leakage current between
chassis and power line which can cause Microshock
Protection against shock
1. Isolation transformer
o Used to transfer current from AC source to equipment via mutual
inductance
o No “return path” for current to close the circuit
o One could touch the hot wire and not be shocked
 o Another example is if the equipment is connected to the same ground,
current at hot lead = current at neutral, I H =I N

o If there is a fault, stray capacitor can be formed between neutral lead

and ground

Leakage current
Vo
I leak =
√¿¿¿
V o – voltage

ω – angular frequency
R g – wire resistance

o Since C is small, I leak will be small as well

o Considered safe when a person touches faulty wire as current will also
be small
o Isolation transformer can be faulty, creating a shorted neutral line
which result in loss of isolated power

2. Line isolation monitor

o Connected between power line and ground
 o Continuously monitor power lines by detecting impedance between
power line and ground
o If there is no fault, equivalent circuit can be drawn like this

I Vo
lim ¿= ¿
√ R2+¿ ¿¿

o Current should be small if there is no fault

o However if the neutral line is shorted, equivalent circuit becomes

I Vo
lim ¿= ¿
R

o This cause current to increase which triggers an alarm to indicate a

fault
3. Ground-fault interrupter
o “Hot” and “neutral” lines are connected to a magnetic coil where ϕ h =ϕ n
o Since flux is the same, they cancel each other which cause no voltage
to go towards the amplifier
o When the circuit is shorted, the flux will no longer cancel each other out
which sends a voltage to the amplifier
o The amplifier will trigger the relay switch which cuts the current supply
to the device
o Cannot use for life-support equipment as patient’s life will be at risk in
event of short circuit
Safety tester
  Different LEDs will light up based on the different faults
 Trace the current path to identify which ones will light up and which ones don’t
Chapter 4 Lung anatomy and spirometers
 Internal respiration – exchange of gases between bloodstream and nearby
cells
 External respiration – exchange of gases between lungs and bloodstream

 TV – tidal volume
 IRV – inspiratory reserve volume
 ERV – expiratory reserve volume
 VC – vital capacity
 RV – residual volume
 FRC – functional residual capacity
 TLC – total lung capacity
Dead space
 Volume of air that is not available for gas exchange with the blood which
includes air in air way, trachea, and bronchi
 150 ml
Tidal volume
 Volume of gas inhaled or exhaled during each normal respiratory cycle
 500 ml
Residual volume
 Amount of gas remaining in the lungs at the end of maximal expiration
 1200 ml
Functional residual capacity
 Amount of gas remaining in the lungs at the resting expiration level
 2400 ml
Vital capacity
 Maximum amount of gas expelled from lungs by forceful effort from maximal
inspiration
 4800 ml

Total lung capacity

 Amount of gas contained in the lungs at the end of maximal inspiration
 6000 ml
Spirometer
 Spirometer is used to measure lung volume
 Simple spirometer only measures volume inspired or expired
 Patient will breathe through the mouthpiece
 This cause volume change in the spirometer which will be proportional to the
change in lung volume
 There is a mechanical linkage between volume change of spirometer and
measurement reading output
 Cannot measure volume remaining inside lungs (residue volume)
Nitrogen-washout
 A modified spirometer that can measure remaining volume in lungs
 2 one-way valves are connected in a tube and the mouthpiece is located
between the valves
 Pure oxygen is fed into the tube while the patients breathe into the
mouthpiece
 During exhalation, nitrogen is transferred from lungs to spirometer
 After many breathing cycles, an equilibrium can be reached
 Residual volume (RV) can be calculated by doing a mass balance of nitrogen
before and after the experiment provided if the patient started the breathing
cycle at maximal exhalation
 Can be used for functional residue capacity (FRC) too
T L F s N (t 2 )V s ( t 2 )
RV = [ 2
]
T s F L N ( t 1) −F L N (t 2)
2 2

T L – temperature of lungs at the beginning

T s – temperature of lungs at the end

V L – volume of lung

V s – volume of spirometer

F s N – nitrogen molar fraction in spirometer

2
 F L N – nitrogen molar fraction in lungs
2

Chapter 5 Pacemaker, Defibrillator and Oximetry

Pulse oximetry
 Used for assessment of tissue oxygenation
 Concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (SO2 or SaO2)
 Hemoglobin binds and unbind with oxygen and 1 hemoglobin can carry 4 O 2
molecules
 When 4 molecules bind, it is considered saturated
HbO 2
 SO 2= , HbO 2 – concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin, Hb –
HbO 2+ Hb
concentration of deoxygenated hemoglobin
 Pulse oximeter transducer consist of
o 2 light sources: red and infrared light
o Photodetector: Photodiode
 Working principal based on Beer’s law

−μCL
I =I o e
I o – original intensity

I – transmitted intensity
μ – extinction coefficient
C – concentration of material
L – length of material
 Absorption of light intensity

A ( λ )=−10 log 10
( )
I
Io
∈dB

A ( λ ) – absorption
λ – wavelength

 If two materials are mixed

 −(μ1 C 1 L 1+ μ2C 2 L2)
 I =I o e

 A ( λ )=log e ( II )= A ( λ) + A ( λ )
o
1 2

 A1 ( λ ) =μ 1 C 1 L1, A2 ( λ ) =μ 2 C 2 L2
 For pulse oximeter, total absorption of light by HbO 2 and Hb is given as
A ( λ )=A HbO ( λ )+ A Hb ( λ )
2

 In the finger, light must go through various tissues

 Absorption of light can be split into 2 components

o DC component – tissue layers with of constant absorption
o AC component – variation in absorption due to arterial pressure
change
 Total absorption will be A ( λ )=dc ( λ ) +ac ( λ)
 Red and infrared diodes are alternately lighted
o Wavelength of red – 660nm
o Wavelength of infrared – 940nm
 Therefore, 2 equations can be obtained for each wavelength
A ( λ red )=dc ( λ red ) +ac (λ red )

A ( λ IR )=dc ( λ IR ) + ac ( λ IR )

 Modulation ratio of red and infrared

ac (λ red )
dc ( λ red )
R=
ac( λ IR )
dc ( λ IR )

 SO2 is a function of R
  Lower R represents higher SO2, higher R represents lower SO2
Pacemaker
 Pacemaker is need when
o Sinoatrial node (SA node) stops functioning or becomes unreliable
o Pulse from SA node cannot reach the heart muscle due to tissue
damage
 Types of pacemakers
o External pacemaker
o Implantable pacemaker

External pacemaker
External pacemakers are used when
 Waiting for implantation of a permanent pacemaker
 Correct temporary conduction disturbance
How to apply external pacemaker
 Pacing pulse is applied through metal electrodes placed on surface of body

Implantable pacemaker
 Implanted beneath the skin and is done through minor surgery
 Output leads are connected directly to heart muscle

Fixed rate pacemaker R wave triggered pacemaker

Rate is fixed so it functions regardless of Pacemaker detects R wave of ECG
the patient’s natural heart rhythm and stimulates the ventricle

Less common

 Electrodes are made using titanium or platinum

  Lifetime of a battery depends on ampere-hour (A-H) rating
 Lithium iodide cells are used in implantable pacemakers
 Last as long as 10 – 15 years
Defibrillator
 Function: to create shock that re-establish a normal cardiac rhythm from
ventricle or atrial fibrillation
 Defibrillator pulse is delivered by placing paddles against skin of patient
1 2
 Energy stored in capacitor for defibrillation is W = C V p , W = 50 – 400 joules
2
 Precaution
o If applied incorrectly, could cause fibrillation in normal heart

Automatic defibrillator Ventricular defibrillator Atrial defibrillator

ECG is attached for
detecting ventricular
fibrillation
If ventricular fibrillation
occurs, the switch is
placed on the defibrillator
If ventricular fibrillation is
suspected, switch is
placed in defibrillator
position
If Fib detector output is
high and attendant switch
is also high, defibrillator is
actuated
If QRS detector is high,
then the gate to N is high
and defibrillator is not
actuated
For atrial fibrillation,
switch is placed in
cardioverter
QRS detector detects
QRS wave and 30ms
later defibrillator is
actuated
During this period,
ventricles contract and
stay contracted so
defibrillator actuation can
help revert atria to normal
rhythm

Chapter 6 Biosensors
Definition
 Biosensor is a device that converts a clinically or biologically relevant signal to
a measurable signal (electrical, optical etc)
Components of a typical biosensor
 Recognition Element
o Immobilized on sensor and specifically interact with target analyte
 Sensing Element
o Translate interaction between recognition element and analyte into a
measurable and quantifiable signal (e.g electrical)
 Output Component
o Output signal in user-friendly manner; often associated with electronics

Type of signals
 Optical Signal
o Fluorescence, colour, absorbance
 Physical
o Temperature, weight, displacement, vibration
 Chemical signal
o pH
 Electrical signal
o Current, voltage

Electrochemical sensors
 Operation of electrochemical sensors is based on charge transfer or charge
accumulation due to certain electrochemical reactions occurring at electrode
surface
Amperometry/potentiometry set up
 Amperometry: Measures current between working electrode and the
reference electrode while a constant voltage is applied.
 Potentiometry: Measures potential difference between working electrode and
the reference electrode while a constant current is applied

 When constant voltage is applied, Ag becomes Ag + in anode and releases an

electron which flows to the external circuit to reach the cathode
 Extra electron at cathode will be used to reduce O 2 obtained from sample
chamber
 Anode (reference electrode) – Oxidation occurs as electron is released from
reaction
  Cathode (working electrode) – Reduction occurs as electrons is needed for
reaction
 Measured current is proportional to O2 concentration
Glucose sensor

 Glucose oxidase and co-factor GOx (FAD) is immobilised on electrode

surface (recognition element)
 When glucose bind to glucose oxidase, electron is transferred to GOx (FAD)
and becomes GOx (FADH2)
 To measure concentration of glucose, the electron transferred to the co-factor
must reach the electrode, but catalytic center of glucose oxidase is in buried
in the molecule core, making it difficult to transfer the electron from glucose
oxidase to electrode
 To solve this issue, a mediator Ferrocene 2Fe(cp) + will receive the electron
from GOx(FADH2) and get reduced to form 2Fe(cp)
 This releases the electron which allows it to reach the electrode, meanwhile
2Fe(cp) gets oxidised to form 2Fe(cp)+ again to repeat the cycle
Optical sensors
 Pulse oximeter
 Surface plasmonic resonance sensor
Pulse oximeter
 Pulse oximeter indirectly monitors the oxygen saturation of blood
 Working principle is based on red (R) and infrared (IR) light absorption
characteristics of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin
 Beer’s law: Absorption of light is proportional to concentration of molecule
 Lambert’s law: Absorption of light is proportional to length
a=ecL
a – absorbance
e – attenuation constant
c- concentration
L - length
  Oxygenated hemoglobin absorbs infrared light and allows red light to pass
through
 Deoxygenated hemoglobin absorbs red light and allows infrared light to pass
through
Surface plasmonic resonance sensor

 Able to quantify the speed of binding

 Ligand are immobilized onto the metal film that binds to analyte in the fluidic
channel to form surface plasmon
 Single wavelength (polarized) light beam shines through a prism (ensure total
internal reflection) and onto the sensor surface at an angle (incidence angle)
and the light gets reflected off the sensor surface
 Resonance angle is the angle where electron receives energy and oscillates
 When incident angle is the same as resonance angle, the reflected intensity
will be minimal as the photons are absorbed by electrons
 As analyte bind to ligand, the resonance angle changes and causes the
intensity of reflected light to increase
 Obtain a graph that shows change in intensity over time
Advantage of SPR sensor
 Sensitive and fast
 Labelling of target molecule is not required
 Real-time monitoring
 Only require small amount of sample
Ion-sensitive field-effect transistor
  Ion selective membrane filters target ion from sample and accumulates the
ions at the gate
 Accumulation of ions change the conductance of the FET which leads to
measurable electrical signal
Piezoelectric devices
 Piezoelectric materials vibrate under the influence of electric field and produce
voltage under the influence of mechanical stress
 Use piezoelectric material such as quartz

 AC voltage supply is connected to gold electrodes that sandwich a

piezoelectric crystal
 Crystal will oscillate due to piezoelectric property and oscillation will be
measured
 When antigen binds to antibody, the frequency of oscillation changes due
to mass increase
 A graph of concentration vs frequency can be plotted to show the
relationship
Characterizing a biosensor
  Selectivity or specificity
o Interference from other chemicals or molecules must not affect results
(be minimized)
 Lower detection limit (LDT)
o Smallest detectable concentration (Signal to noise ratio >3)
 Sensitivity
o Ratio of change between response and concentration
 Dynamic range of detection
o LDT to the threshold concentration that causes saturation of response
 Response
o Time needed to get 95% of stable output
 Linearity
o Response is linearly scaled with concentration
 Reproducibility
o Consistency of response to a given sample
 Cost
o For both raw materials and fabrication
 Convenience of measurement
Nano-biosensor
 Offers new sensing possibilities due to new phenomena (e.g van der Waal
force) at the nanoscale
 Better sensitivity and selectivity because of
o large surface area to volume ratio (electron moves along surface, low
resistivity and very conductive)
o Ability to intimately interact with molecules
o take advantage of new phenomena
 Faster response, less power and sample consumption
Nanoelectronics FET sensors
 Based on silicon nanowires (SiNW) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs)

 As electron flow on the surface, conductance of these wires are extremely

sensitive to electrical and electrochemical changes in the vicinity
 Immunosensor based on SiNW or CNT
 Recognition element (antibodies) will be immobilized on SiNW or CNT
 When antigen binds to antibodies, conductance of SiNW or CNT will change
due to electrostatic gating which leads to a measurable current change from
voltage biased FET sensor

 pH sensor based on SiNW-FET

 pH represents hydrogen ion concentration, pH high = low concentration. pH
low = high concentration
 P-type (charge carrier is hole) SiNW coated with a polymer APTES
 APTES act as a receiver or donor of proton
 When high pH solution is added, APTES will deprotonate (lose a hydrogen
ion) and cause P-type SiNW to be more conductive as there will be more
charge carriers on the surface

 Protein sensor based on SiNW-FET

  Sensor detects for streptavidin, a negatively charged biomolecule
 When it binds to biotin, net charge of SiNW surface is negative
 This cause P-type SiNW to increase conductance
Detecting biopotentials using SiNW-FET
 Extracellular biopotential caused by an action potential in a neuron is
translated into SiNW current signal
 Ionic current flowing through the resistive nanogap between SiNW and cell
membrane changes the extracellular potential at the gap (V=IR) which in turn
gates the SiNW current
Nano-cantilever based biosensor
 Recognition element immobilized on surface of cantilever
 As antigen binds, the increase in mass cause cantilever to bend
 The degree of bending can be measured precisely by deflecting a light beam,
from the surface
Nanopore technology
 Use ion beam to create a pore on nanomembrane
 Apply voltage across pore to establish current flow
 Introduce target molecule, as it pass through the pore, it blocks the pore
 This reduces current flow, can be observed by measuring current amplitude

Lecture 7 Biopotentials
Measurement of extracellular fields
 Action potentials created by excitable cells (neuron, cardiac cell) leads to flow
of ionic currents into extracellular space and behaves like a current source
 Neuron cells that have myelin sheath have faster action potential propagation
as compared to unmyelinated neuron cells
 Measurement of extracellular fields depend on
o Spatial and temporal characteristics of the locally generated
extracellular ionic current
o Conductive characteristics of fluid or tissue between the excited cells
and electrode is known as volume conductor
Biopotential recording
 Bipolar recording
o Measure of potential difference between two electrodes on active site
o Record signal and is insensitive to far-field signals
o Noise is reduced
o Recoding is sensitive to direction of signal wave
 Unipolar
 o Measure potential difference between single electrode on active site
and a remote reference electrode
o Record both local and far-field signals
o Recording field is infinite and uniform in all directions, no directional
sensitivity
Electroneurogram (ENG)
 Recording of electrical activity of neurons (Using arm as example)
 Bipolar recording (electrode at wrist and elbow)

 First voltage pulse observed is the simulation pulse, subsequent pulse at the
wrist shows the electrical activity
 Voltage pulse observed at elbow is smaller in magnitude as compared to
pulse at wrist, this is due to a difference in resistance (V=IR) as current is
assumed to be the same
 The difference in resistance is due to
o Radial distance of the measurement point
o Tissue composition at each location
Area
o Different tissues have various resistivity ( ρ=R ) which causes a
Length
change in resistance
Electromyogram (EMG)
 3 types of muscles
o Skeletal muscle
o Smooth muscle
o Cardiac muscle
 EMG record activity from skeletal muscle
 Uses surface or needle electrodes
 Skeletal muscle operate in single motor unit
o Smallest area of muscle tissue that can be activated by a neuron’s
action potential
 Single motor unit generates triphasic potential
o Recording cannot distinguish the individual single motor unit
  Applications
o Assess muscle function
o Diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases
o For prosthesis (EMG controlled prosthetic arm)
o For ergonomic assessment

Electrocardiogram (ECG)
 Cardiac cells contract to pump blood, generating their own action potential
 This potential creates electrical current that spreads from heart throughout the
body
 Spreading current create differences in electrical potential in the body and
these potentials can be recorded through surface electrodes attached to skin
 Measurement: Surface electrodes
Structure of heart
 Heart chambers
o Right and left atrium
o Right and left ventricle
 Heart valves
o Tricuspid valve
o Bicuspid (mitral) valve
o Semilunar (pulmonary artery) valve
o Aortic valve
 Conductive tissues
o Sino-atrial (SA) node
o Internodal tracts
o Atrioventricular (AV) node
o Bundle of His
o Purkinje fibers

Cardiac activation sequence

 Sinoatrial (SA) node cells are self-excitatory, pacemaker cells
 Generate about 70 action potential per min
  Action potential propagates throughout the atria but cannot propagate directly
across the boundary between atria and ventricles
 Atrioventricular (AV) node located at the boundary has an intrinsic frequency
of 50 pulse/min
 When subjected to a higher pulse frequency, AV node will follow that
frequency, and this propagates the action potential across the boundary
 Propagation from AV node is facilitated by a conduction system called bundle
of His
 Bundle of His forms the Purkinje fibers that diverge to the inner sides of the
ventricular wall
 Propagation occurs at high speed within the ventricular region but slow in
atrial regions
 From the inner side of the ventricular wall, many activation sites cause the
formation of wavefront which propagates through the ventricular mass
towards the outer wall
 Process due to cell-to-cell activation via gap junctions
 After each ventricular muscle region has depolarized, repolarization occurs

Correlate cardiac activation with ECG

 P – atrial depolarization where SA node generate action potential
 PR interval – due to conduction delay by AV node
 QRS – ventricular depolarization
 ST interval – average duration of action potential plateau of ventricular cell
 T – ventricular repolarization
Lead configurations
Bipolar lead 1 Unipolar augmented lead aVR

Bipolar lead 2 Unipolar augmented lead aVL

Bipolar lead 3 Unipolar augmented lead aVF

 Bipolar leads can be represented using the Einthoven’s triangle

Application of ECG
 Reveals rhythm problems such as the cause of a slow or fast heartbeat or
arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
 Assess if the patient has had a heart attack
 Diagnose diseases in the coronary arteries
 Identify thickening of heart muscle (left ventricular hypertrophy)
2 types of Arrhythmias
 Complete heart block
o Cells in AV node are not functional and not able to excite ventricles
o Atria and ventricles beat independently

 AV block where in the node is diseased

o Although wave from SA node reaches AV node, the AV node delay is
greatly increased
o First degree heart block
Electroretinogram (ERG)
 Contact lens containing one electrode and reference electrode is placed on
the skin near the eye (unipolar)
 Measures electrical response of retina to a visual stimulus

 Used to diagnose various retinal diseases

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
 Measures brain electrical activity from scalp, obtain results from activity of
neurons in brain
 Neuron in brain is called pyramidal cell

Unipolar EEG recording Bipolar EEG recording

 Electrode placement follows the ten-twenty electrode system

  10 and 20 refer to the actual distance between adjacent electrodes are either
10% or 20% of the total front-back or right-left distance of the skull
 Types of EEG waves
o Alpha (8-13Hz): Occur in quiet, resting state
o Beta (14-30Hz): Recorded from parietal and frontal region
 Beta 1: intense mental activity
 Beta 2: intense mental activity
o Theta (4-7Hz): Parietal and temporal region of children
o Delta (<3.5Hz): Deep sleep
o Waveforms are irregular and highly dependent on the degree of activity
of the cerebral cortex
 Evoked potential: potential generated when subjected to stimulus (light/sound)
 To assess the nerve conduction pathway
 If nerve is damaged, recorded signal will appear different
Application of EEG
 Help to detect and localise cerebral brain lesions (abnormally in the brain)
 Diagnose brain disorder
o Epilepsy
o Mental illness
 Analysis of brain response to sensory stimuli
 Utilized for human machine interface (robotic arm)
Lecture 8 Bioelectrode
Function of bioelectrode
 Bioelectrode provide electrical interface between body and electronic
 Convert ionic current and electronic current at electrode-electrolyte interface
Types of bioelectrodes
 Biopotential recording electrodes
o Measures bioelectric events
o Convert ionic current to electronic current
o Low current
 Stimulation electrodes
o Delivery of current to living tissue for action potential generation
o Convert electronic current to ionic current
o High current

Electrode-Electrolyte interface
 For charge to cross the electrode-electrolyte interface, electrochemical
reaction must occur at the electrode-electrolyte interface
 Electrochemical reaction such as oxidation or reduction
−¿¿

C ⇔ Cn +¿+n e ¿
 Oxidation is left to right
Reduction is right to left
N - number of charges
 When metallic electrode is immersed in an electrolytic solution, metal ions
dissociate and create excess negative charge on the electrode surface and
excess positive charge in the solution near the electrode
 This is known as electric double layer and forms a potential build up known as
half-cell potential

Half-cell potential
 Refer to half-cell potential to see which material will act as cathode or anode
 The more negative half-cell potential = anode
Example
Zinc and copper electrode
Zinc Copper
Half-cell potential: -0.763V Half-cell potential: 0.340V

Anode −¿¿
Cathode
−¿→Cu ¿

Zn→ Z n2+ ¿+2 e ¿ Cu 2+¿+2 e ¿

Oxidation occurs Reduction occurs

Potential difference
V =0.34−(−0.763 )
¿ 1.1V

 Large offset potential will cause amplifier to saturate, not good as the amplifier
cannot amplify the biopotential
 Typically use sliver-sliver chloride electrodes due to low half-cell potential
 Use the same type of electrodes to eliminate offset potential using differential
amplifier
Electrical model of electrode
Ideal polarizable electrode Ideal Non-polarizable electrode
  Used for stimulation  Used for recording
 Ideally, no net transfer of charge  Ideally, rapid exchange of charge
across electrode-electrolyte due to oxidation-reduction
interface reaction to convert ionic current
 No electrode reaction to convert to electronic current
ionic current to electronic current  Electrical resistance at EE
 Behave like capacitor, inhibit DC interface need to be small (close
current to 0)
Electrodes IRL
 Cannot make ideal electrode in real life
 Platinum is the closest ideal polarizable electrode
 Sliver/sliver chloride electrode is the closest non-polarizable electrode

Cd – double layer capacitance

Rd – resistance across double layer
Ehc – half-cell potential
Rs – solution resistance
Rd Cd
Reflects rate of charge movement εA
C d=
resulting from electrochemical reaction d
at electrode-electrolyte interface
Biopotential electrodes
 Ag/AgCl electrodes are most common
 When electrode act as anode, oxidation occur
 When electrode act as cathode, reduction occurs
Oxidation −¿¿
Reduction
−¿→ AgCl ¿

Ag ( s ) → A g +¿(aq )+e ¿
Ag+¿ ( aq)+Cl ¿

Advantage Disadvantage
 Concentration of Ag+ and Cl- is  Sliver may be toxic when used
the same (fee 2 way) inside body
 Minimal change in charge  Mechanically vulnerable
distribution near electrode
 Stable half-cell potential

Overpotential
Difference between half-cell potential and zero-current half-cell potential (before
connecting electrode to anything)

High overpotential = need more power to deliver current, no good

V p=V r +V c +V a
Vp – overpotential
Vr – ohmic overpotential
Vc – concentration overpotential
Va – activation overpotential
Ohmic Concentration Activation

Always exist Results from change in Activation energy for

Direct result of resistance ion distribution from reactions
across double layer Rd oxidation/reduction Oxidation and reduction
V=IR, sign depend on Speed of reaction have different values
current direction determines this value
Use gel to reduce Rd

Recording problems
Problem Solution
Recording problem due to half-cell Solving problems associated with half-
potential cell potential

Large half-cell potential cause amplifier
to be saturated, cannot amplify
biopotential as biopotential is
significantly smaller than half-cell
potential
Use electrodes that have low and stable
half-cell potential, Ag/AgCl. Use
differential amplifier to eliminate half-cell
potential before amplifying
Movement of electrode lead to potential
difference between 2 electrodes, known
as motion artifact

To provide a counter offset voltage in

preamplifier design but is limited as half-
cell potential change with time and
motion between skin and electrode

Use gel, suction, adhesive to minimize

movement

Use high pass filter at input of amplifier

to remove low frequency motion artifice
component from recording
High impedance in skin Clean the skin and apply gel to reduce
impedance

Use amplifier with high input resistance

(Ri) to minimize lost. Usually at least 10
times more than source impedance.
Typically 5M ohm.
 Electrode

Tissue

Percutaneous and internal electrode

 Surface electrode are non-invasive, but face movement artifact issues and
high impedance problems
 Percutaneous or internal electrodes are electrodes that avoid the electrolyte-
skin interface and the associated limitations
Needle and wire electrode
For ECG and EEG Percutaneous measurement of
biopotential
Electrode is inserted beneath the skin
1. Insulated needle electrode
ECG needle is used for poor skin, e.g 2. Coaxial needle electrode
anesthetized patients or animal 3. Bipolar coaxial electrode
experiments 4. Fine wire electrode connected to
hypodermic needle
Infection may occur, hence needle
electrodes are either disposable or are
re-sterilized

Functional electrical stimulation

 If a motor nerve is stimulated from external electrode, action potential will
propagate to muscle and twitching will show
 Muscle responds to artificially initiated nerve signal
 E.G, patients with spinal cord injury
o Signals from brain cannot reach desired motor neuron because of
transacted cord
 o In this situation, artificial signal initiated in the nerve will evoke a
response
o Devising strategies for the stimulation of motor neuron to effect desired
muscle contraction is known as functional electrical stimulation
 Design of functional electrical stimulation
o In FES, nerve stimulation is achieved by passing current between 2 or
more electrodes implanted in the body
o To produce a functional nerve activation, spatial and temporal patterns
must be determined for the desired stimulus response
 Design considerations include
o Number and position of electrodes
o Material
o Size
o Shape
o Stimulating current properties such as strength and waveform

Electrode operating characteristic

  Charge (x-axis) vs potential of electrode (y-axis)
 Ideal operating region is in the capacitive region
 Voltage increase linearly with charge as V=Q/C
 There is no charge transfer between electrode and electrolyte, hence no
dissociation of electrode into the solution (this good)
 Exceeding the capacitive region by delivering charge beyond points 1 and 2
will cause electrochemical reactions
 Slope of V-Q relation decrease because some charges are lost in
electrochemical reaction
 Good polarizable electrode has a very narrow capacitive window
 Operating beyond capacitive region is not desirable as it leads to tissue
damage or impairment of electrode quality and performance
 Stimulation will become less efficient as some charge is lost to the reactions
Electrochemical reaction
 Example if stainless steel electrode is pass point 1 by anodic potential
−¿¿
o Fe → Fe 2+¿+2 e ¿ oxidation at anode
 For cathodic potentials beyond point 2
−¿¿

o 2 H 2 O+2 e−¿→ H O +2O H ¿ reduction at cathode

2

Avoiding electrochemical reaction

 For monophasic stimulation, charge continually builds up at electrode
interface
 For anodic pulses, build-up of charge reach point 1, oxidation reaction take
place causing loss of charge
 For cathodic pulse, build-up of charge pass point 2, reduction occur
 Don’t use monophasic
 Use biphasic current as this prevents charge build-up
  Amount of charge is area under the graph
 IpDp = IsDs to ensure charge is balanced and no build-up will occur
 If not equal, operating point will drift towards point 1 or 2
 Capacitive region can be expanded by increasing electrode capacitance
o E.G roughening the electrode surface to increase surface area

Chapter 9
Requirements for biopotential amplifier

1. High input impedance (Ri)

2. Low output impedance (Ro)
3. High gain (A)
4. Low inherent noise
5. Quick and easy calibration
6. Isolation and protection circuity
7. Differential amplifiers are often used
 To amplify difference between 2 electrodes while rejecting common
signals which are irrelevant
 High common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) is required
Problems in biopotential recording
1. Frequency distortion
a. Relevant frequency components in signal is filtered out
b. Solution: Adjust filtering circuitry to set appropriate recording bandwidth
2. Saturation or cutoff distortion
a. Due to large signal or high amplifier gain
b. Solution: Lower the gain
3. Ground loop that may exist between 2 machines connected to patient
a. Current flow from ground of one machine through the patient to the
other ground of another machine, causing safety issue and producing
common mode voltage
b. Solution: Use isolation and protection circuit
4. Random noise
a. Solution: use filter
5. Interferences
a. Solution: use proper shielding and filtering
Noise in biopotential recording
1. Intrinsic electronic noise of amplifier
2. Thermal noise from electrode impedance
a. Solution: Lower electrode impedance cause thermal noise from
electrode/electrolyte interface to be reduced
b. V th =√ 4 KTR f b where k = 1.38x10-23 J/K, T is temp, R is impedance, fb
is bandwidth
3. Aliasing noise due to low sampling rate
a. Solution: higher sampling rate must be greater than twice the highest
frequency component that has non-negligible power (Nyquist theorem
from signals)
4. Quantization noise due to limited resolution of analogue to digital converter
a. Solution: Use appropriate gain so that the dynamic range of signal
match the voltage range of AD converter
Interferences in biopotential recording
1. Unstable electrode half potentials
2. Motion artifacts
a. Solution:
b. Use electrode with stable and small half-cell potential
c. Apply gel
d. Use high pass filter to eliminate low frequency drift caused by motion
artifacts
3. Artifacts from electric shocks
a. Solution: Use isolation and protection circuit
4. Electric interference within body itself
a. Solution: Use proper filtering
5. Electromagnetic interferences from power line
a. Solution: Proper filtering, shielding, differential amplifier
High pass filter
 Pass high frequency, attenuate low frequency
 Eliminate noise or interference below frequency range of detecting signal
 Eliminates DC component that may saturate amplifier
 Can draw bode plot to represent filter response

Low pass filter

 Pass low frequency, attenuate high frequency
 Eliminate noise and interference above ethe frequency range of detecting
signal
Band pass filter
 Series combination of low pass and high pass filter that amplifies frequencies
over a desired range and attenuates higher or lower frequencies

Band stop filter/Notch filter

 Pass all frequency except for those in a stop band centered on a center
frequency
 Often used to filter out 50 to 60Hz interference noise
Thermal noise
 Noise in the feedback resistor in current voltage converter
 Unavoidable noise
 Generated by random thermal motion of charge carriers inside a conductor
Power density spectrum (V2/Hz)
Sv ( f )=4 kTR

Corresponding current density spectrum (A2/Hz)

||
2
1 4 KT
S I ( f )= SV=
R Rf

K – 1.38x10-23 J/K
 Thermal noise also known as white noise
 Good conductor has high current noise, but total noise is limited by filtering
components in data acquisition system
Current noise variance Magnitude of current noise

( ) √
4 KT 4 KT f B
σ I 2= .fB I th =
R R

Capacitive current noise

 Generated by voltage thermal noise

current power density spectrum (A2/Hz)

2 2 2
S1 ( f ) =4 π C f S v
 ❑
σ i =∫ S i (f ) df
2

fb

Shot noise
 Generated by charge flow across potential barrier
 Due to quantal nature of charge carrying particles
 Noise increase in proportional to mean current (I) and charge (q) of current
carrier
current power density spectrum (A2/Hz)
S1 ( f ) =2 Iq

I – current in ampere
Q – 1.6x10-19 coulombs
Total noise level
Standard deviation of total noise

I th−tot =σ tot = √ σ 12 + σ 22+ …

Signal to noise ratio

Vs
SNR ( dB )=20 log ⁡( )
Vn

SNR can be improved by averaging N repetitive signal measurements

Vs
SNR ( dB )=20 log ⁡( )
Vn
√N