Hashemite University

Faculty of Engineering
Department of Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical Transducer and

Telemetry Lab. Manual
110406424

1
What is LabVIEW?

LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrument Engineering Workbench) is a development

environment based on graphical programming. LabVIEW uses terminology, icons,
and ideas familiar to technicians, scientists, and engineers. LabVIEW relies on
graphical symbols rather than text-based language to describe programming actions.
LabVIEW is integrated fully for communication with hardware such as GPIB, VXI,
RS-232, RS-485, and plug-in data acquisition boards.

The Computer IS the Instrument

Traditional measurement and automation systems consist of expensive, closed

instruments designed for specific tasks. Typically, you are forced to design a
traditional system from the ground up and have an extensive knowledge of computer
programming. In these traditional systems, the hardware defines the system.

The National Instruments Measurement Revolution of using computer-based

instruments changes everything. Now, you can design measurement and automation
systems that leverage low-cost, flexible PC technology. LabVIEW's graphical
programming language provides an easy means for non-programmers to quickly
design and implement complex test and measurement and automation applications.
With LabVIEW, the software defines the system—saving you both valuable
development time and resources.

Virtual Instruments

The basic files you create with LabVIEW are called Virtual Instruments, or VIs.
Each VI consists of two main parts—the front panel and the block diagram—and a
third part—the icon and connector.

2
 Front Panel: The User Interface

The front panel contains the user interface of your VI. The following image is an
example of a front panel window.

Block Diagram: The Graphical Code

The block diagram contains the graphical code for your VI. The following image is an
example of a block diagram window.

In this block diagram, the values passed from the front panel knob controls are added
every 500 milliseconds. The results are displayed on the waveform graph when the
user presses the Boolean button on the front panel to stop the VI.

Icon and Connector Pane

The icon and connector pane of a VI are located in the upper-right corner of the front
panel and block diagram window. The icon is what you see on the block diagram
when you use a VI as a subVI.
3
 The LabVIEW Environment
The basic LabVIEW environment elements are the menus at the top of the front panel and block
diagram windows, the toolbar, and the free-floating palettes, which you can place anywhere on the
screen.

The Controls and Functions palettes contain the basic building blocks of VIs. You can browse
through the palettes for the controls, indicators, VIs, and functions you need.

Tools Palette
The Tools palette is available on the front panel and the block diagram. A tool is
a special operating mode of the mouse cursor. The cursor corresponds to the icon
of the tool selected in the palette. Use the tools to operate and modify front panel
and block diagram objects.

If automatic tool selection is enabled and you move the cursor over objects on the
front panel or block diagram, LabVIEW automatically selects the corresponding
tool from the Tools palette.

Use the Tools palette to modify the contents of the front panel and block
diagram.

Each icon on the Tools palette changes the behavior of the cursor in LabVIEW so
you can perform positioning, operating, and editing tasks on your VIs.

Controls Palette
You build a front panel by placing controls and indicators from the Controls
palette. Each palette icon represents a subpalette, which contains controls you
place on the front panel.

A control is a front panel object that the user manipulates to interact with the VI.
Simple examples of controls are buttons, slides, dials, and text boxes.

An indicator is a front panel object that displays data to the user. Examples of
indicators are graphs, thermometers, and gauges.

When you place a control or indicator on the front panel, a corresponding

terminal is placed on the block diagram.

4
Functions Palette
You build the block diagram using the terminals from the front panel controls
and indicators and the VIs, functions, and structures from the Functions palette.
Each palette icon represents a subpalette, which contains VIs and functions you
place on the block diagram.

The structures, functions, and VIs—collectively known as nodes—on the

Functions palette provide the functionality of your VI.

As you add nodes to the block diagram, you wire them to each other and to the
terminals from the front panel objects using the Wiring tool, found on the Tools
palette. A complete block diagram appears similar to a flowchart

5
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (1)
Introduction to Measurement System

Objectives:

Learning about Data Acquisition Kit (DAQ) and Labview software.

Basic Information:

Any measurement system includes the following basic stages:

Signal Sensing: A sensor converts a physical measurand to an electric output, while

the term transducer is defined as a device that converts one form of energy to another.
Many sensors have a primary sensing element such as a diaphragm, which converts
pressure to displacement and a variable-conversion element that converts
displacements to an electric voltage.

Signal Conditioning: To measure signals from transducers, you must convert them
into a form a DAQ device can accept. Common types of signal
Conditionings include amplification, isolation, and filtering. For this purpose the
bridge amplifier (ETH- 256) with two channel combinations can be used.

Signal Acquisition: is the process of converting physical phenomena into

data the computer can use. For this purpose the Data Acquisition kit (DAQ) is used.
DAQ device acquires or generates data and can contain multiple channels. You also
can use general-purpose DAQ devices to generate analog signals, such as a sine wave,
and digital signals, such as a pulse. Typically, you connect these devices directly to
the internal bus of a computer through a plug-in slot, the DAQ device converts the
incoming signal into a digital signal the computer can use.
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BNC-2090: an accessory that simplifies the connection of analog signals and digital
signals to the DAQ board for use in laboratory, test, and production environments. In
the BNC-2090 you can configure 8 differential or 16 single-ended analog input and 2
analog output channels available on the accessory.

Differential Measurement System: Differential measurement systems are similar to

floating signal sources in that you make the measurement with respect to a floating
ground that is different from the measurement system ground.

Referenced and Non-Referenced Single-Ended Measurement Systems:

Referenced and non-referenced single-ended measurement systems are
similar to grounded sources in that you make the measurement with respect
to a ground. A referenced single-ended measurement (RSE) system measures voltage
with respect to a ground, which is directly connected to the measurement system
ground.
Non-referenced single ended measurement (NRSE) system, measures all voltages with
respect to a single-node analog input sense.

Signal Processing: it is the process of converting the raw signal into a useful form to
get specific data from it. One of the interfacing software that helps in signal
processing is Labview.

Labview: is an open environment designed to make interfacing with any

measurement hardware. Labview makes gathering data as simple as possible.

Data through Labview will pass different stages:

Analog Input: Acquire a specified number of samples at a specified sample rate from
both a single or multichannels inputs and returns the acquired data. The AI acquire
Waveform VI performs a timed measurement of a waveform (multiple voltage
readings at a specified sampling rate) on a single analog input channel.

Manipulation: it is the main part of signal processing; it usually includes filtration

amplification, and any other process using labview VIs to extract the desired data
from raw signal.

Data Presentation: the last stage in any measurement system, that presents the
measured value in a form which can easily recognized by the observer. There are two
ways to present the output data:

1. Inside Labview: in this case the output data transfer to a local indicator
within Labview such as waveform graph, waveform chart …etc.

7
 2. Outside Labview: in this case the display screen will be out of the
computer, so it should be taken as an output from the DAQ. To achieve
this Labview provides analog output VI that generates a timed, simple-
buffered waveform for the given output channel at the specified update rate
then this output will be shown on an external indicator such as
oscilloscope.

Equipments:

• PC, with Labview software.

• DAQ (Data Acquisition hardware) BNC-2090.
• Function Generator.
• Oscilloscope.

Procedure:

1. Open a new VI from Labview software on the computer.

2. Choose the suitable VIs to construct (AI/AO) file as follows:

Right click in the front panel of the VI to get two waveform graphs from Controls
list:
Graph >> Waveform Graph.

Right click in the diagram of the VI to get functions list:

Data Acquisition >> Analog Input >> AI Acquire waveform vi.
Data Acquisition >> Analog Output >> AO Generate waveform vi.
Numeric >> Multiply.

3. Connect the above components as follows:

Note: Take the default values for AI/AO VIs.

4. Connect the Function Generator (FG) output to ACH0 on the BNC-2090 at (Diff)
mode.
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5. Set the FG parameters to provide Sine wave with 2 Vp-p at frequency 50Hz
6. Connect the BNC-2090 output (DAQ0OUT) to CH1 at the oscilloscope.
7. Run your program continuously.

Your Result should look like the following:

The Input/Output Signals:

9
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (2)
Signal Conditioning (1)

Objectives:

• Study and design a variable-conversion element (Wheatstone bridge).

• Study and design an amplifier.

Basic Information:

Variable-conversion element (Wheatstone bridge):

Many sensors have a primary sensing element that convert the input variable
to a resistance. So, such sensors need a variable-conversion element that
converts the change in resistance to an electric voltage change, Wheatstone
bridge used for this purpose.

A Wheatstone bridge is a measuring instrument; it is used to measure an

unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of
which includes the unknown component.

In the circuit on the right, Rx is the

unknown resistance to be
measured; R1, R2 and R3 are
resistors of known resistance and
the resistance of R2 is adjustable.
If the ratio of the two resistances
in the known leg (R2 / R1) is equal
to the ratio of the two in the
unknown leg (Rx / R3), then the
voltage between the two midpoints
(B and D) will be zero and no
current will flow through the
galvanometer Vg. R2 is varied until
this condition is reached. The
current direction indicates whether R2 is too high or too low.

10
Detecting zero current can be done to extremely high accuracy. Therefore, if
R1, R2 and R3 are known to high precision, then Rx can be measured to high
precision. Very small changes in Rx disrupt the balance and are readily
detected.

At the point of balance, the ratio of R2 / R1 = Rx / R3

Therefore, Rx = (R2 / R1) * R3

Amplification:

Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is any device that changes, usually

increases, the amplitude of a signal. The "signal" is usually voltage or current.

An operational amplifier, often called an op-amp , is a DC-coupled high-gain

electronic voltage amplifier with differential inputs and, usually, a single
output. Typically the output of the op-amp is controlled either by negative
feedback, which largely determines the magnitude of its output voltage gain,
or by positive feedback, which facilitates regenerative gain and oscillation.
High input impedance at the input terminals and low output impedance are
important typical characteristics.

Equipments:

• Power Supply.
• Breadboard.
• Digital Multimeter.
• Potentiometer (1KΩ).
• Operational Amplifier (Op-Amp LM741CN).
• Resistors with different values.
• Wires.

Procedure:
11
1. Construct the following circuit.

2. Adjust the Wheatstone bridge circuit until you reach the null point.

3. For three different values of the potentiometer (included the minimum

and maximum) record the potentiometer readings, Wheatstone bridge
output, and the amplifier related output.

12
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (3)
Signal Conditioning (2)

Objectives:

Learning how to build an interface circuit between analog and digital systems
through an analog to digital converter integrated circuit.

Basic Information:

Analog Signals

Analog signals are continuous electrical signals that vary in time as shown in
the figure below. Most of the time, the variations follow that of the non-
electric (original) signal. Therefore, the two are analogous hence the name
analog.

Figure1: Analog Signal

Not all analog signals vary as smoothly as the waveform shown in Figure 1.
Analog signals represent some physical quantity and they are a ‘MODEL’ of
the real quantity.

Digital Signals

Digital signals are non-continuous, they change in individual steps. They

consist of pulses or digits with discrete levels or values. The value of each
pulse is constant, but there is an abrupt change from one digit to the next.
Digital signals have two amplitude levels called nodes. The value of which are
specified as one of two possibilities such as 1 or 0, HIGH or LOW, TRUE or
FALSE and so on. In reality, the values are anywhere within specific ranges
and we define values within a given range.

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Analog system is very complicated when compared to digital one according to:

Analog system Digital system

Number of circuits'
Too much Few
components
Hard, because it needs Easy, because it needs
Updating
changing parts with only to change the
(changing the design)
different values software programming

Resolution: the value of the bit with respect to measured value (for example:
when we said that 1bit = 0.19V this means an increase/decrease of 0.19V will
cause the binary value to increase/decrease by 1).

Conversion to and from binary numbers:

To convert from a base-10 integer numeral to its base-2 (binary) equivalent,

the number is divided by two, and the remainder is the least-significant bit.
The (integer) result is again divided by two; its remainder is the next most
significant bit. This process repeats until the result of further division becomes
zero.
The straightforward way of converting binary to decimal is for the integer
part, you simply add up the appropriate powers of 2,
and for the fractional part you add up the appropriate powers of 1/2.

Example: convert binary 1101001 to decimal:

1 + 8 + 32 + 64 = 105

Example: convert binary 0.1101001 to decimal:

.5 + .25 + .0625 + .0078125 = .8203125

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Equipments:

• Power Supply.
• Breadboard.
• Function Generator.
• Oscilloscope.
• Digital Multimeter.
• Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) IC.
• Voltage Regulator.
• LEDs.
• Resistors and capacitors with different values.
• Wires.

Procedure:

1. Connect the function generator to the oscilloscope with the following

parameters:

Square wave.
Amplitude = 2.5V.
DC Offset = 2.5V.
Frequency = 202 KHz.

2. Construct the following circuit.

3. Let the input voltage be (3, 6, 9) Volt record the corresponding binary
number for each.

15
16
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (4)
Static Characteristic of Measurement System

Objectives:

• Understanding the concepts of some static characteristics of measurement

system.
• Analyze static characteristic for a simple measurement system.

Basic Information:

The ways in which a sensor affects the measurement performance due to the
feature of the sensor are termed its static characteristics.
Some of these characteristics are:
1. Range: the interval between the maximum and minimum either for the input or
for the output. (Input range: Imax, Imin and the output range: Omax, Omin).

2. Span: the interval of input /output range of a measurement device. (Input span
= Imax - Imin and the output span = Omax - Omin).

3. Sensitivity: is the rate of change in output corresponding to the rate of change in

input dO/dI.
(Note: At different range, the sensitivity may be different).

4. Linearity: is an ideal relationship between input and output:

O = ki + a.

5. Error bands: is an indication of accuracy in terms of a statistical density

function in other words, for any input (I) the output is within ±h of the ideal
value.

6. Hysteresis: A system with hysteresis can be summarised as a system that may be

in any number of states, independent of the inputs to the system. If the system
has hysteresis, we can't predict the output without looking at the history of the
input. In order to predict the output, we must look at the path that the input
followed before it reached its current value.

17
Equipments:

• PC, with Labview software.

• BNC-2090.
• Breadboard.
• Power supply.
• Digital multimeter (DMM).
• Resistors.

Procedure:

1. Construct the following circuit:

2. Connect the voltage output of RL to CH0 at BNC-2090.

3. Using Labview software and the voltage division rule; construct the following
program to find the value of RL from its voltage.

Note: you can get the (Amplitude and Levels.vi) from Functions >> Analyze >>
Waveform measurements >> Amplitude and Levels.vi.

4. For the six resistor in the range (1 KΩ -10 KΩ) find their values first using
DMM then using your measurement system and record the results.
18
 Note: use the DMM to compare the resistor voltage value with that appears at
your Labview VI.

5. Using your own measurement system record the values of 22 KΩ and 10 Ω

resistors.

6. Again measure the values of the previous resistors start from 10 KΩ down to
1.2 KΩ and record your results.

7. Change the value of R1 to (1 MΩ) then use your measurement system to

measure the value of the resistors 1.2 KΩ and 10 KΩ.

19
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (5)
Calibration Process

Objectives:

• Learning how to calibrate linear transducers.

• Showing the importance of calibration process in taking measurements.

Basic Information:

Calibration: is simply the comparison of the measuring instrument or equipment's

performance to a reference standard of known accuracy. In addition to this
determination and reporting of deviation from nominal, it may also include
correction (adjustment) to minimize the errors.
The basic concept behind calibration is that the measuring equipment should be
tested against a standard of higher accuracy.

Force Transducer (FT): when a force is applied to a structure, the length of the
structure changes. Strain is the ratio of this change in dimension to the original,
and strain gauges are used to measure it. As the strain gauge is glued to the
structure, any distortion will also cause a distortion of the strain gauge. The gauge
contains conducting material and the distortion therefore results in a change in its
resistance. By measuring this change in resistance we can measure the strain.

The change in resistance is measured through a Wheatstone bridge arrangement.

This has 4 arms, arranged in a square. Each arm contains either a resistor of known
resistance, or a strain gauge - strain gauges will occupy 1, 2 or 4 of the arms.

Wheatstone bridge.

20
Displacement Transducer (DT): the displacement transducer used, based on a
moving magnetic rod and a stationary magnetic sensor. Changes in the magnetic
flux cause changes in the output induced voltage that can be detected.

Magnetic displacement sensor.

Equipments:

• PC, with Labview software.

• BNC-2090.
• Bridge Amplifier.
• Force Transducer (FT).
• Small weights.
• Displacement Transducer (DT).
• Caliper.
• Stand.

Procedure:

1. Using the stand, fix the transducer (FT/DT) horizontally.

2. Connect the transducer output to CH1 on the bridge amplifier and set its
parameters as:
• Gain: x1
• LPF: 5Hz
• HPF: DC

3. Connect the output of CH1 of the amplifier to ACH0 at the BNC-2090.

4. Using Labview software construct the following:

21
Note: Get Y Value.vi from Functions >> Waveform >> Waveform Operation
>> Get Y Value. vi

5. Using the offset knob at the bridge amplifier, try to reach the first calibration point
(0 (gm)/ (mm), voltage (mV)).
Note: consider the zero weight for the FT as the force transducer without
weight, while for DT the zero displacement when the rod all the way to one
ends of its travel.

6. To take the second calibration point its prefer to have the maximum value of the
variable you want to measure. So, for the FT hold a known weight (ex: 100gm.
Notice that the holders weight is 20gm) and record the voltage output, while for
the DT push the rod all the way to the other end of its travel, measure the length
of rod that extends from the sensor housing using caliper then record the
corresponding voltage.

7. Apply these two calibration points to the linear relation:

Voltage (mV) = Slope * (Weight (gm) / Displacement (mm)) + Constant.

→ (Weight (gm) / Displacement (mm)) = (Voltage (mV) – Constant) / Slope.

Note: the constant will be zero if you have the first calibration point exactly (0,0).

8. Using Labview Numeric operations, modify your program to give correct

values of weights or displacements as its output.

9. Apply five different (weights / displacements) and record your results.

22
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (6)
Heart Sound Measurement

Objectives:

• Study the principle of sound sensors "Microphones".

• Record and analyze heart sounds.

Basic Information:

Speakers and Microphones:

A microphone converts sound energy into electrical energy; one of the most
commonly used microphones is crystal microphones that utilize the piezoelectric
properties of crystals to convert sound waves into electrical pulses. The crystal
microphone uses the piezoelectric effect by placing the sensitive diaphragm over
a piezoelectric crystal. Vibration of the diaphragm due to sound waves pushes
against the crystal, causing it to generate an electric current of variable voltage.
The signal may then be amplified and processed to produce sound waves.

Speakers convert the electric signals of microphones back into sound waves. The
dynamic speaker at the receiving end of the electrical or radio wave signal
consists of a rigid speaker frame that contains a cone-shaped diaphragm. An
input terminal on the speaker frame runs an electrical current to the inside of the
speaker, where the current flows through a conductive coil. This coil is looped
around a permanent magnet mounted in a conductive frame. The electrical pulses
cause the wire to generate a varying magnetic field that makes the cone of the
speaker vibrate. Two dampers on the side of the center cap of the cone confine
the vibrations to the sensitive diaphragm and keep the sound waves from being
muffled by the speaker frame. The diaphragm's shape amplifies the sound, and
the vibrations produce sound waves that vary with the electrical signal input.

Heart Sounds:

Heart sounds are vibrations produced by the closure of the valves . Physicians
listen to heart sounds for the purpose of diagnosing various cardiac malfunctions.
Within a cardiac cycle, there are four sounds produced by the mechanical activity
of the heart.

S1: First heart sound is initiated by the onset of ventricular systole. It is the
longest and loudest of the four sounds. S 1 is heard best over the apical region of
the heart. S1 is produced by the oscillation of blood in the ventricular chambers
23
 and vibration of the ventricular free wall. At the onset of systole, ventricular
pressure begins to increase and forces the blood within the ventricles toward the
atria through the mitral and tricuspid valves. As these one way valves close,
blood and the ventricular wall vibrates producing the S 1 sound. Therefore, S1
sound is expected soon after the onset of the ventricular contraction, QRS wave
of the ECG. Heart now is in the iso-volumetric contraction phase of the cardiac
cycle.

S2: The second heart sound is generated the end of the ejection of the blood from
the ventricles by the closure of the semilunar valves, i.e. aortic and pulmonic
valves. At this point, blood from the ventricle is pumped into the arteries, arterial
pressure exceeded the ventricular pressure, hence the one way valves are closing
as the pressure is reversed. These sounds have higher frequency components and
the aortic valve sound is louder than the pulmonic valve sound.

S3: This heart sound is heard in young children and patients with left ventricular
failure and believed to be resulted by the deceleration of blood entering the
ventricle. In enlarged hearts, ventricular walls are stretched beyond normal
ranges and are under tension allowing vibrations.

S4: Is the weakest on of all the heart sounds and heard occasionally. It is not
related to a pathological condition and believed to be due to the oscillation of
blood in the atria and atrial walls. It occurs immediately after the P-wave in the
ECG.

The next Figure shows the relationship between the heart sounds and the ECG
waveform.

# Frequency Change
increases the sharpness
of the sound.

# Amplitude Change
increases the Loudness
of the sound.

Normal hearing Freq. of

the young healthy
human is about 20Hz to
20KHz
Fig 1: Relationship between HS and ECG.

24
Equipments:

• Heart sound microphone.

• Bridge Amplifier.
• Function generator.
• Oscilloscope.
• Audio generator.
• Supporting stand.
• Gel.

Procedure:

1. Fix the sensor vertically on the supporting stand. It should be against the
level of audio generator speaker.

2. Set the bridge amplifier parameters as the following:

• HPF: 3 Hz.
• LPF: 2 KHz.
• Gain: x1.

3. Connect the sound transducer cable to CH1 on the bridge. Connect the
bridge output to one of the oscilloscope channels. Place the transducer in
front of the audio generator speaker. Let the space between them be 0.5
cm. Keep this space constant.

4. Connect the function generator to the audio generator device. Switch on

the audio generator, the Oscilloscope and the function generator.

5. Set the function generator to 100Hz 100mV p sine wave. Increase the
volume of the audio generator until you hear a comfortable voice then
notice the output frequency on the oscilloscope.

6. Change the input frequency values slowly (don't exceed 250 Hz) and
notice the output frequency.

7. Now shutdown the speaker and notice the signal on the oscilloscope.

8. Repeat steps (5-7) but in this time fix the frequency and change the
amplitude slowly.

9. Clean the sound transducer and your skin above your heart with alcohol.

25
10.Measure your heart sound (S1). By applying the sound transducer on your
heart as shown in the following figure. Try to detect (S1) , speak, laugh,
and move. Notice changes on your signal.

Fig 2: Heart sounds recording.

11.Repeat step 10, but in this case put some gel at the transducer then take
measurement.

26
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (7)
Temperature Measurement (1)

Objectives:

• Understanding the principles of different temperature measurements

methods.
• Studying the characteristics of the temperature sensor (TM-100).

Basic Information:

Temperature measurements methods:

Mercury thermometer: mercury has an almost constant coefficient of

expansion, i.e. the change in volume for each degree rise or fall in temperature is
almost the same and it is this unique property that provides the reliability and
accuracy of thermometers.

Thermistor: thermistors are thermally sensitive resistors whose prime function is

to exhibit a large, predictable and precise change in electrical resistance when
subjected to a corresponding change in body temperature.

Thermocouple: it depends on the principle that an electric current flows in a

closed circuit of two dissimilar metals when one of the two junctions is heated
with respect to the other. In such a thermocouple circuit the current continues to
flow as long as two junctions are at different temperatures. The magnitude and
direction of the current is a function of the temperature difference between the
junctions and of the thermal properties of the metals used in the circuit.

Equipments:

• Bridge Amplifier.
• PC, with Labview software.
• Supporting stand.
• Heater.
• Temperature sensor (thermocouple).
• Digital thermometer.
• Mercury thermometer.
• Beakers.
• Water, ice.

27
Procedure:

1. Record the output voltage of the thermocouple that is correspond to tap

water temperature and that one indicates the temperature of water with ice
with (10-15) Cº using a Labview VI from your own design.

2. Construct the Labview VI that returns the temperature readings (in Cº)
using the thermocouple (notice that your thermocouple is linear).

3. Check the temperature of heated water of 40Cº and body temperature at the
inside of elbow joint (elbow joint flexed).

4. Repeat step (3) using digital thermocouple and mercury thermometer.

5. Using thermocouple and digital one; measure:

a. The temperature of heated water with 60Cº and 80Cº temperature.
b. Two readings of water temperature that are below 10Cº.
Notice the difference between the actual value and the measured one for
each reading.

6. Repeat steps (1-5) but this time start with two temperatures one for heated
water with 50Cº and the other one for water with temperature less than
10Cº, then construct your linear relationship to take measurements.

28
 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (8)
Temperature Measurement (2)

Objectives:

• Learning how to design measurement system.

• Be able to construct and test your own design.

Basic Information:

Many factors affect the design of biomedical instruments. The factors that impose
constraints on the design are of course different for each type of instrument.
However, some of the general requirements can be categorized as signal,
environmental, medical, and economic factors.

In this experiment we are going to study the signal factors such as sensitivity,
range, accuracy, linearity…. etc.

Thermistor:

A thermistor is a type of resistor with resistance varying according to its

temperature.

Assuming, as a first-order approximation, that the relationship between

resistance and temperature is linear, then:

ΔR = kΔT As the Temp. Range increases

the Sensitivity and Accuracy Decreases
Where

ΔR = change in resistance
ΔT = change in temperature
k = first-order temperature coefficient of resistance

Thermistors can be classified into two types depending on the sign of k. If

k is positive, the resistance increases with increasing temperature, and the
device is called a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistor, or
posistor. If k is negative, the resistance decreases with increasing
temperature, and the device is called a negative temperature coefficient
(NTC) thermistor. Resistors that are not thermistors are designed to have
a k as close to zero as possible, so that their resistance remains nearly
constant over a wide temperature range.
29
Equipments:

• Thermistor (NTC 1 KΩ).

• PC computer with labview.
• Resistors (1 KΩ).
• Bridge Amplifier ETH-256.
• Data Acquisition Kit (BNC-2090).
• Breadboard.
• DC power supply.
• Digital multimeter (DMM).
• Wires.

Procedure:

Using your knowledge and experiences from previous experiments design a

temperature measurement system and study all the signal factors of your design
using the equipment available in the Lab.

Note: when you test your design record the thermistor resistance and the output
voltage of the sensor.

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 The Hashemite University
Biomedical Engineering Faculty
Biomedical Transducer Lab. (0406326)
Experiment (9)
Photocell

Objectives:

• Learning about photo resistors and their applications.

• Be able to design and construct a photocell.

Basic Information:

A photo resistor or Light Dependent Resistor or CdS Cell is a resistor whose

resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity. It can also be
referred to as a photoconductor.

A photoresistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor. If light falling on the

device is of high enough frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give
bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting
free electron (and its hole partner) conduct electricity, thereby lowering
resistance.

A photoelectric device can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. An intrinsic

semiconductor has its own charge carriers and is not an efficient semiconductor,
e.g. silicon. In intrinsic devices the only available electrons are in the valence
band, and hence the photon must have enough energy to excite the electron
across the entire bandgap. Extrinsic devices have impurities, also called dopants,
added whose ground state energy is closer to the conduction band; since the
electrons don't have as far to jump, lower energy photons (i.e., longer
wavelengths and lower frequencies) are sufficient to trigger the device. If a
sample of silicon has some of its atoms replaced by phosphorus atoms
(impurities), there will be extra electrons available for conduction. This is an
example of an extrinsic semiconductor.

Photoresistors come in many different types. Inexpensive cadmium sulfide cells

can be found in many consumer items such as camera light meters, clock radios,
security alarms, street lights and outdoor clocks.

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Equipments:

• Photo conductive cell.

• Operational Amplifier (LM741).
• Resistors (1M, 100K (potentiometer)) Ω.
• Light emitting diode (LED).
• Transistor (2N3904).
• Breadboard.
• DC power supply.
• Digital multimeter (DMM).
• Wires.
• Rollers.

Procedure:

8. Using DMM study the relation between the photocell resistance and the distance of
your finger above its surface. Record your results.

9. Construct the following circuit.

10.Adjust the potentiometer in your design to let the LED be ON only and only if
your finger touches its surface otherwise it should be OFF.

11.According to your design; measure the value of the potentiometer that achieved the
above condition.

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