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BIOMENG 241 : Instrumentation and Design
Engineering
2021 Semester Two (1215) (15 POINTS)
Course Prescription
Course Overview
This is a required course for the biomedical engineering specialisation. There are two main lecture themes: instrumentation (basic electronics, semiconductors, operational amplifiers, filter, digitisation, signal processing); and engineering design (teamwork, communication, safety and professional responsibility, software tools, material and manufacturing process selection). These themes are reinforced with laboratories, and applied in a substantial group design project.
Capabilities Developed in this Course
| Capability 1: | Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice |
| Capability 2: | Critical Thinking |
| Capability 3: | Solution Seeking |
| Capability 4: | Communication and Engagement |
| Capability 5: | Independence and Integrity |
| Capability 6: | Social and Environmental Responsibilities |
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate an understanding of basic electronics. Describe the origin and characteristics of biological signals. Name the essential components of measurement systems. List the characteristics of resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Apply Kirchhoff’s current and voltage laws to analyse passive electrical circuits. Describe how complex impedance can be used to characterise passive alternating current circuits. Apply circuit theory to characterise the frequency characteristics of passive filters. (Capability 1.1 and 3.1)
- Demonstrate an understanding of semiconductors and operational amplifiers. Describe how the band gap structure of semiconductors gives rise to their electrical properties. Explain the characteristics of forward and reverse biased diodes. Explain how diodes can be incorporated in passive circuits for signal rectification. Explain the operation of BJT and MOSFET transistors and how they can be used for current and voltage amplification. List the characteristics of ideal operational amplifiers. Describe how operational amplifiers with feedback can yield useful circuit building blocks such as inverting, noninverting, differential, summing, integrating, differentiating, and active filtering amplifiers. Describe the non-ideal characteristics of operational amplifiers, and how they affect operational amplifier circuit behaviour. (Capability 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of signals, noise, and filters. Be able to define concepts of signal, noise, amplitude, power, power spectrum, and signal to noise ratio. Ability to classify sources and characteristics of electrical noise such as thermal, shot, 1/f, popcorn, and interference. Explain the competing characteristics of ideal filters such as amplitude and phase response, delay, and causality. Describe the characteristics of filter families, including Bessel, Butterworth, Chebyschev, and elliptic. Describe and contrast several circuit technologies for active filters. Demonstrate an ability to define noise in a signal, and quantify the various statistics that characterise noise sources. Use coherent averaging and least squares fitting to reduce noise in a signal. Demonstrate how correlation, cross-correlation, autocorrelation can be used to characterise signal and noise properties. (Capability 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of digitisation. Be able to define digital to analogue and analogue to digital conversion concepts, such as bit resolution, quantisation error, and settling time. List and describe non-ideal characteristics of data conversion. Comprehend concepts of sampling and aliasing. Be able to describe multisignal sampling methods, multiplexing, buffering, and sample and hold. Describe and contrast ADC technologies such as parallel encoded, successive approximation, single slope, and delta-sigma. Describe DAC technologies such as scaled resistor, and R-2R ladder. (Capability 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of the principles and practice of engineering design. Describe the major steps in the engineering design process. Select and use methods for idea generation and idea selection. Break a project into manageable tasks and schedule them so that they are completed on time. Design a biomedical instrument incorporating mechanical, electrical, and software components. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of teamwork. Work effectively as a team with other engineers. Manage and discuss team and individual expectations. Identify and model positive teamwork behaviours, while avoiding negative behaviours. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of design communication. Generate written reports describing and justifying their team's instrument design. Deliver an oral presentation summarizing their team's instrument design and its salient features. (Capability 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3)
- Demonstrate an understanding of safety and professional responsibility. Explain the major electrical safety requirements of IEC 60601. Identify ethical dilemmas and trade-offs that can arise around medical instrumentation. Use failure mode and effects analysis and fault tree analysis to identify the possible hazards present in a design, as well as possible mitigation strategies. (Capability 5.1, 5.2, 6.1 and 6.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of tools for instrumentation design: Use computer aided design software to design mechanical components and electronic circuits. Use data acquisition software to measure and process biological signals. (Capability 1.1 and 3.2)
- Demonstrate an understanding of material, component, and manufacturing process selection. Choose real electronic components to meet design specifications, according to information from product data sheets. Choose appropriate manufacturing processes for mechanical components based on their shapes and materials. Identify the major considerations when choosing materials to be used in contact with the human body, whether implanted or merely in skin contact. (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 3.2 and 5.1)
Assessments
| Assessment Type | Percentage | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | 20% | Individual Coursework |
| Project | 30% | Group Coursework |
| Test | 20% | Individual Test |
| Final Exam | 30% | Individual Examination |
| 4 types | 100% |
| Assessment Type | Learning Outcome Addressed | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Coursework | ||||||||||
| Project | ||||||||||
| Test | ||||||||||
| Final Exam | ||||||||||
Workload Expectations
This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.
For this course, you can expect 36 hours of lectures, 18 hours of laboratories, 36 hours of team project work, 36 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 24 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.
Delivery Mode
Campus Experience
Attendance is required at scheduled activities, including laboratories, to complete components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including laboratories and tutorials may not be available as recordings.
The course may include live online events including tutorials and/or group discussions.
Attendance on campus is required for the test and examination.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable for the first 8 weeks of semester, transitioning to a project-intensive schedule for the remaining 4 weeks.
Learning Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Health & Safety
Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.
Student Feedback
At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.
Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.
Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.
Digital Resources
Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).
Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.
Academic Integrity
The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.
Class Representatives
Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.
Inclusive Learning
All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.
Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz
Special Circumstances
If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.
If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.
This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.
Learning Continuity
In the event of an unexpected disruption we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and your assessment is fair, and not compromised. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the University Website for information about how to proceed.
Student Charter and Responsibilities
The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.
Disclaimer
Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.
In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.