Entry requirements

Introduction to Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Measurement Methods

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course the student shall be able to:

• account for the appearance of measurable physiological signals in the human body,
• account for the function and application of the most common measurement methods and sensor techniques in clinical physiology, patient monitoring and laboratory medicine,
• account for the occurrence and elimination of disturbances, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of different medical measurement systems and explain their limitations,
• practically use some medical measurement systems to measure physiological signals, e.g. temperature, blood pressure, peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) and electrocardiogram (ECG),
• explain the meaning of quality assurance in measurements and explain the concepts of measurement uncertainty and calibration.

Content

The origin and significance of the physiological signals. Methods for measuring temperature, pressure, flow and volume for blood and respiratory gases. Physiological sensors. Properties of different sensors. Instrumentation in physiological measurement technology. Opportunities, limitations and sources of error in different methods. Quality assurance in medical measurement technology. Methods of calibration of medical devices.

Instruction

Lectures, seminar. Laboratory exercises using clinical medical equipment for the measurement and processing of physiological signals. Field trip to an accredited medical laboratory.

Assessment

Written examination (4 credits) and written and oral presentation of laboratory work (1 credits).

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the disability coordinator of the university.