ABSTRACT
During the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the use of computers in biomedical research. In particular, the use of these instruments in experimental control, as well as in the acquisition and storage of experimental data, has become universal. The current capacity of these machines enables the precise manipulation of many experimental variables and allows for very fast acquisition of data. In this article, we discuss the fundamentals of small personal computers and its use in experimental control and data acquisition. Further, we discuss technical aspects related to the management of measurement instrument's control and their technical limitations. Electrical recordings from the cerebral cortex are used as examples to illustrate the different aspect included in this article
Subject(s)
Humans , Medical Informatics , Research , Transducers , Computer Storage Devices , Infection Control , Computer-Aided DesignABSTRACT
A personal computer equipped with an analog-to-digital conversion card is able to input, store and display signals of biomedical interest. These signals can additionally be submitted to ad-hoc software for analysis and diagnosis. Data acquisition is based on the sampling of a signal at a given rate and amplitude resolution. The automation of signal processing conveys syntactic aspects (data transduction, conditioning and reduction); and semantic aspects (feature extraction to describe and characterize the signal and diagnostic classification). The analytical approach that is at the basis of computer programming allows for the successful resolution of apparently complex tasks. Two basic principles involved are the definition of simple fundamental functions that are then iterated and the modular subdivision of tasks. These two principles are illustrated, respectively, by presenting the algorithm that detects relevant elements for the analysis of a polysomnogram, and the task flow in systems that automate electrocardiographic reports