Medical Instrumentation

Application and Design

John G. Webster, Amit J. Nimunkar, John G. Webster, Amit J. Nimunkar

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781119457312
• Edition: 5
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Biotechnology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Provides a comprehensive overview of the basic concepts behind the application and designs of medical instrumentation

This premiere reference on medical instrumentation describes the principles, applications, and design of the medical instrumentation most commonly used in hospitals. It places great emphasis on design principles so that scientists with limited background in electronics can gain enough information to design instruments that may not be commercially available. The revised edition includes new material on microcontroller-based medical instrumentation with relevant code, device design with circuit simulations and implementations, dry electrodes for electrocardiography, sleep apnea monitor, Infusion pump system, medical imaging techniques and electrical safety. Each chapter includes new problems and updated reference material that covers the latest medical technologies.

Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design, Fifth Edition covers general concepts that are applicable to all instrumentation systems, including the static and dynamic characteristics of a system, the engineering design process, the commercial development and regulatory classifications, and the electrical safety, protection, codes and standards for medical devices. The readers learn about the principles behind various sensor mechanisms, the necessary amplifier and filter designs for analog signal processing, and the digital data acquisition, processing, storage and display using microcontrollers. The measurements of both cardiovascular dynamics and respiratory dynamics are discussed, as is the developing field of biosensors. The book also covers general concepts of clinical laboratory instrumentation, medical imaging, various therapeutic and prosthetic devices, and more.

• Emphasizes design throughout so scientists and engineers can create medical instruments
• Updates the coverage of modern sensor signal processing
• New material added to the chapter on modern microcontroller use
• Features revised chapters, descriptions, and references throughout
• Includes many new worked out examples and supports student problem-solving
• Offers updated, new, and expanded materials on a companion webpage
• Supplemented with a solutions manual containing complete solutions to all problems

Medical Instrumentation: Application and Design, Fifth Edition is an excellent book for a senior to graduate-level course in biomedical engineering and will benefit other health professionals involved with the topic.

1
BASIC CONCEPTS OF MEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION

Walter H. Olson and John G. Webster

The invention, prototype design, product development, clinical testing, regulatory approval, manufacturing, marketing, and sale of a new medical instrument add up to a complex, expensive, and lengthy process. Very few new ideas survive the practical requirements, human barriers, and inevitable setbacks of this arduous process. Usually there is one person who is the “champion” of a truly new medical instrument or device. This person—who is not necessarily the inventor—must have a clear vision of the final new product and exactly how it will be used. And most important, this person must have the commitment and persistence to overcome unexpected technical problems, convince the naysayers, and cope with the bureaucratic apparatus that is genuinely needed to protect patients.

Important new ideas rarely flow smoothly to widespread clinical use. There are probably one hundred untold failure stories for each success story! New inventions usually are made by the wrong person with the wrong contacts and experience, in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is important to understand the difference between a crude feasibility prototype and a well‐developed, reliable, manufacturable product. Patents are important to protect ideas during the development process and to provide incentives for making the financial investments needed. Many devices have failed because they were too hard to use, reliability and ruggedness were inadequate, marketing was misdirected, user education was lacking, or service was poor and/or slow.

An evolutionary product is a new model of an existing product that adds new features, improves the technology, and reduces the cost of production. A revolutionary new product either solves a totally new problem or uses a new principle or concept to solve an old problem in a better way that displaces old methods. A medical instrument that improves screening, diagnosis, or monitoring may not add value by improving patient outcome unless improvements in the application of therapy occur as a result of using the medical instrument.

1.1 TERMINOLOGY OF MEDICINE AND MEDICAL DEVICES

Most biomedical engineers learn the physical sciences first in the context of traditional engineering, physics, or chemistry. When they become interested in medicine, they usually take at least a basic course in physiology, which does not describe disease or pathologic terminology. The book Medical Terminology: An Illustrated Guide (Cohen and DePetris, 2013) is recommended. It emphasizes the Latin and Greek roots in a workbook format (with answers) that includes clinical case studies, flash cards, and simple, clear illustrations. An unabridged medical dictionary such as Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 30th ed. (Dorland, 2003), is often useful. Physicians frequently use abbreviations and acronyms that are difficult to look up, and ambiguity or errors result. Six references on medical abbreviations are given (Cohen and DePetris, 2013; Davis, 2011; Firkin and Whitworth, 2001; Haber, 1988; Hamilton and Guides, 1988; Heister, 1989). Medical eponyms are widely used ...