University of Zagreb
Faculty of Electrical Engineering and
Computing
Biomedical Instrumentation
Transducers and sensors
prof.dr.sc. Ratko Magjarevi
November 2015
Biomedical transducers
A transducer is a device that converts a quantity from the measured object into an
electrical signal.
Biomedical transducers are transducers with specific uses in biomedical applications:
physiological measurement,
patient monitoring,
health care.
Measurement quantities: physical and chemical quantities that reflect the
physiological functions in a living body.
Examples:
blood composition - determined from a sample extracted from the body
real-time and continuous measurements - transducer is attached to the body
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Electrodes
Bioelectrical potentials - recall:
bioelectrical potentials occur at the cell
membrane due to difference in
ions concentration (mostly Na +, K + and Cl-) in
intracellular fluid and in the extracellullar space
Potential difference at the cellular membrane
may be in the range within 5mV and 100mV
This potential difference is called the resting
potential
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Electrodes
Bioelectrical resting potentials:
resting potential inside the cell is negative
comparing to the environment
resting potential of nerve and muscle cells is
typically -70mV to -85mV
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Electrodes
Action potentials:
when the cell membrane is stimulated, there is
a sudden change in membrane conductance, first
for sodium ions (cell depolarization), and
then to potassium ions (repolarization)
Negative potential inside the cell
reduces, such that short-term potential may become
positive
Such a potential difference is called the action
potential
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Electrodes
How to access the cell and measure
bioelectrical potentials?
individual cells
thickness of the semi-permeable membrane approx.
10nm
measurement of in vivo or in vitro
groups of cells - tissue or organ
access to tissue or organ - a non-invasive (bloodless) or
invasive measurements
mutual influence of different tissues /organs
(potentials, impedance)
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Electrodes
Electrode is an interface
to connect the measurement devices and
measure bioelectrical potentials, electrode is
used as an interface, however..
The electrode is also a transducer
exchange charge carriers :
in electrical circuits, electrons are charge carriers
in the body, ions are charge carriers
connects to the surface of the body (skin, mucous
membranes) or on/in the organ inside the body
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Electrodes
Most of bioelectric potentials strive to measure
noninvasively, e.g. from the surface of the body, by
placing electrodes on the skin
Electrical characteristics of different tissues
specific conductivity (specific resistance)
specific dielectric constant
Characteristics of biological tissue are:
nonlinearity (dependence on frequency and current density),
inhomogenity (unequal material properties of the body)
anisotropy (different properties in different dirrections, typically along
the fiber-cells)
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Electrodes
Using a model of the interface for better understanding
of the interface electrode -tissue
Passive electrical characteristics of the skin - electrode
interface strive to express by ideal electric components
with intent parameters
Resistance
Capacity
This model can be used for measurement electrodes in
limited frequency range
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Equivalent circuit of the skin-
electrode
Electrode
Skin
Biological
Virtual electrode issue
Electrode skin intarface and its simplified electrical
circuit
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Equivalent circuit of the skin-
R
d electrode
P
A
- charge mobility
1
q - charge
qn
CP
A n - number of electrons in volume unit
d
Rp - resistance between the electrode and the well-conductive layer of tissue
(virtual electrode)
d skin thickness
A - electrode surface
- specific resistance
Cp - capacity between the electrode and virtual electrode
- dielectric constant of the skin
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Equivalent circuit of the skin-
electrode
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Equivalent circuit of the skin-
electrode
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Nonlinearity of the electrode
interface
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Electrodes
Electrode-electrolyte interface
The current crosses it from left to right. The electrode consists of metallic atoms C.
The electrolyte is an aqueous solution containing cations of the electrode metal C + and anions A-.
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Metal-electrolyte potential
Potential
double-layer
Metal
Electrolyte
Electrolyte
Potential
Charge
Dissociation of water to H+
and OH- ions
Potential double-layer at the interface metal-electrolyte 16
Metal-electrolyte potential
Standard electrode potential relative to standard hydrogen electrode at 20C
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Metal-electrolyte potential
If you plunge a metal in a solution of its salt, the
half cell potential E0 M appears, also the voltage
dependent on the concentration of metal ions in
solution:
RT
E0.5 M E0 M 1 ln cM 1
nF
If there is some other metal also immersed in a
solution of its own ions, its potential will be
RT
E0.5 M E0 M 2 ln cM 2
nF
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Polarization voltage
If these two solutions are separated with semi-permeable
membrane to allow passage of ions, and to avoid the
original combination of solutions, the potential difference between
the solutions can be measured according to the formula
RT [cM 1 ]
E E0.5 M 1 E0 M 2 E0 M 1 E0 M 2 ln
nF [cM 2 ]
Each electrode that comes in contact with the electrolyte will
have the potential of the expression above. This potential
is undesirable in the measurement of biological voltage
because when using high gain dc amplifier, it causes saturation
of the amplifier. To avoid saturation, amplifier with less gain in the
input is used and the next stages of amplification are
separated with condenser.
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Dry electrodes
Used to avoid the
appearance of polarization
voltage.
The problem is in large input
impedance, which makes
them susceptible to
interference.
Therefore, the electrode
itself incorporates an
amplifier designed to reduce
the high input resistance to
a small value and thus
reduce the impact of
interference.
Dry electrodes with integrated amplifier
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Microelectrodes
They are used to measure the biological
potential of the cells
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Microelectrodes
cell attached recording:
pipette touching the
membrane and forming
a high-ohmic junction
(~ 1GOhm)
whole cell recording:
by suction through a
pipette the membrane
breaks - solution in the
pipette and inside of the
cells become uniform
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Microelectrodes
Extracellular recording
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Microelectrodes
Action potentials recorded extracellularly
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Subcutaneous electrodes
They are used, for example, to measure the voltage
on the individual muscle fibers or groups of neurons in
the brain
Subcutaneous needle electrodes a) monopolar,
b) bipolar c) wire d) electrode array d) cortical
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Subcutaneous electrodes
Example of
subcutaneous
electrodes used for
deep brain stimulation
Example of electrode
implantation for deep
brain stimulation
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Subcutaneous electrodes
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Surface EEG electrodes
EEG electrodes (passive, active)
Conductive paste
and gel
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Surface EEG electrodes
10-20 system - standards for placing EEG
electrodes
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EEG recording
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Surface ECG electrodes
Adhesive:
Suction (pump to
suck air)
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Surface ECG electrodes
Electrodes for extremities (hands and feet):
EKG recodring
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EMG electrodes
Surface
Subcutaneous
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EMG recording
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Surface electrodes - more examples
EOG electrodes:
Electrodes for
electrostimulation
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Literature
John G. Webster: Medical Instrumentation,
Chapter 5, Biopotential Electrodes
A. anti, Biomedicinska elektronika, 3.
poglavlje, Elektrode za mjerenje biopotencijala
i elektrine smetnje
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