585.616.81 - Principles of Medical Instrumentation and Devices

Expanded Course Description

Medical Instruments are an integral part of the modern medicine and they are becoming increasingly important with the growing need for objectivity and accessibility in diagnostics and therapeutics. The science and technology that goes into the plethora of sensors, although highly interdisciplinary, mainly derives from basic principles in physics and electrical engineering. This course will (re)introduce these principles and illustrate the application of these principles in a number of classes of medical sensors. It will also review some of the basic ideas and constraints that go into making of a medical device and finally touch upon a few nontechnical principles in applications of medical devices. Desirable background knowledge includes introductory level electrical engineering, circuit design, college level differential and integral calculus, introductory human physiology.

This course will serve as one of the required courses in three of the four focus areas in the Applied Biomedical Engineering Program at EP – Instrumentation, Imaging and Systems Biology. 

Course Structure

The course is divided into 14 modules. Each module will run for one week from Wednesday through Tuesday. In what follows, these days will be referred to as Day 1 (wed) to Day 7 (next tue) respectively.

The Modules can be accessed by clicking Course Modules on the left menu. A module will have several sections including the Overview, Content, Readings, Discussions, Quizzes and Assignments. Students are encouraged to preview all sections of the module before starting.

Students should regularly check the Calendar and Announcements for assignment Due Dates.

Course Topics

• Basic Concepts
• Basic Principles
• Sensors & Signals
• Sensor Interface Circuits
• Sensors Classification & Basic Measurements
• Sensors in Cardio- Electrophysiology
• Sensors in Neuro-Electrophysiology
• Chemical Sensors & Imaging
• Medical Devices: non-implantable, noninvasive, & noncritical
• Medical Devices: implantable, invasive, & critical
• Prognostics, Diagnostics & Therapeutics
• Prosthetics & Rehab Engineering
• From Bench to Bedside
• To do or not to do? The regulatory and ethical side.

Course Goals

To identify and explain basic principles involved in sensors instrumentation, mechanisms of different sensors, their classification, regulation and ethical use. To apply this understanding of sensors to solve real world problems of medical device innovation, development, troubleshooting, and identify ethical principles in the use of medical sensors in patient care.

Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs)

• Explain the importance and objectives of medical sensors in modern day medicine.
• Identify the underlying physics principles and relate them to mechanisms of a number of biomedical sensors
• Apply basic sensors principles to real world problems in clinical engineering, medical device design.
• Troubleshoot basic medical instrumentation.
• Critique a medical device design from the standpoint of an engineer, a patient or a clinician.
• Synthesize medical literature about real world sensors used at all levels of biomedical engineering – from bench to bedside.
• Communicate via presentations, essays and reports the basic interdisciplinary biomedical concepts from an engineering, regulatory, or ethical standpoint.

Textbooks

 Webster, J. G. (Ed.). (2010). Medical instrumentation application and design (4th ed.). New York: Johns Wiley & Sons.

• ISBN-13: 978-0471-67600-3
• ISBN 10: 0-471-67600-4
• MBS Direct SKU #: 884762
  

• ISBN-13: 978-1-4419-6465-6
• ISBN 10: 1-4419-6465-7
• MBS Direct SKU #: 1057469
  

Textbook information for this course is available online through the appropriate bookstore website: For online courses, search the BNC website at http://ep.jhu.edu/bookstore

Other Materials & Online Resources

Textbooks: Optional

Additionally, any of the following texts may be useful for this course, especially if you find yourself struggling with specific skills. The instructor may use excerpts from these books about specific topics:

1. Togawa, T., Tamura, T., & Ake Oberg, P. (2011). Biomedical sensors and instruments (2nd Ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

• ISBN-13: 978-1420090789
• ISBN-10: 142009078X
  

2. Jones, D. (Ed.). (2009). Biomedical sensors. Momentum Press.

• ISBN-13: 978-1-60650-056-9
• ISBN 10: 1-60650-056-2   
  

3. Fogoros, R. N. (2012). Electrophysiologic testing (5th Ed.). Blackwell Science, Inc.

• ISBN 13: 978-0-470-67423-9   
• ISBN 10: 0-470-67423-7   
• MBS Direct SKU #: 1288914
  

4. Kandel, E.R., Schwartz, J.H., & Jessell, T.M. (2000). Principles of neural science (5th Ed.). McGraw-Hill.

• ISBN-13: 978-0071390118
• ISBN 10: 0-07-139011-1
• MBS Direct SKU #: 1112331
  

5. Foo, J. Y. A., Wilson, S. J., Bradley, A. P. Gwee, W., & Tam, D. K. (2013)., Ethics for biomedical engineers. Springer.

• ISBN-13: 978-1461469124
• ISBN 10: 1-4614-6912-0
  

6. Carr, J. J. (1993). Sensors, transducers, & supporting circuits for electronic instrumentation measurement and control. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

• ISBN-13: 978-0138056315
• ISBN-10: 0138056315
• MBS Direct SKU #: 196957
  

7. Runzheimer, J., Larsen, L. J. (2010). Medical ethics for dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing Inc.

• ISBN-13: 978-0470878569
• ISBN-10: 0470878568

Required Software

Students should refer to Help & Support on the left menu for a general listing of all the course technical requirements.

Student Coursework Requirements

It is expected that each module will take approximately 7–10 hours per week to complete. Here is an approximate breakdown: Reading the assigned sections of the texts (approximately 2–3 hours per week) as well as some outside reading, listening to the audio annotated slide presentations (approximately 2–3 hours per week), and writing assignments or prepare presentations (approximately 3–4 hours per week).

There is no traditional test for this course. It will consist of four basic student requirements for successful completion:

Preparation and Participation (Discussions/Debates 10% of final grade)

Each student is responsible for carefully reading all assigned material and being prepared for discussion. The majority of readings are from the course texts. Additional reading may be assigned to supplemental text readings. The grading system for this requirement will work as follows:

Post your initial response to the discussion questions by creating a new thread by the due date for that module week. Posting the new thread as a response to the discussion question is part one of your grade for module discussions (i.e., Timeliness).

Part two of your grade for module discussion is your interaction (i.e., responding to classmate postings with thoughtful responses) with at least two classmates (i.e., Critical Thinking).  This activity could go beyond the module week, but you should engage in this interaction by the due dates.

Just posting your response to a discussion question is not sufficient; we want you to interact with your classmates. Be detailed in your postings and in your responses to your classmates' postings. Feel free to agree or disagree with your classmates. Please ensure that your postings are civil and constructive.

Dr. Maybhate will monitor module discussions and will respond to some of the discussions as discussions are posted. In some instances, Dr. Maybhate will summarize the overall discussions and post the summary for the module.

Evaluation of preparation and participation is based on contribution to discussions.

Preparation and participation is evaluated by the following grading elements:

1. Timeliness (50%)
2. Critical Thinking (50%)

Preparation and participation is graded as follows:

Written Assignments (30% of Final Grade Calculation)

Assignments will include a mix of qualitative assignments (e.g. literature reviews, summaries), and/or quantitative problem sets. Include a cover sheet with your name and assignment identifier. Also include your name and a page number indicator (i.e., page x of y) on each page of your submissions. Each problem should have the problem statement, assumptions, computations, and conclusions/discussion delineated. All Figures and Tables should be captioned and labeled appropriately.

All written assignments will be due as per the calendar dates posted in the Course Calendar each week. Typically this is day 7 for each module, unless otherwise stated.

Late submissions will receive a 3% reduction of grade for every day of delay.

Policy for assignment resubmissions: If, after submitting a written assignment a student is not satisfied with the grade received, the student is encouraged to redo the assignment and resubmit it.

• A request for a re-do MUST be emailed to me within 5 days after receiving the grade.
• The resubmission will have its own deadline for completion
• Any later requests will not be entertained.
• If the resubmission results in a better grade, that grade will be replace the previous grade.
• Up to a maximum of 2 assignments can be re-done.

Qualitative assignments are evaluated by the following grading elements:

Student Presentations (30% of Final Grade; 15% presentation + 15% comments)

Each team will be required to present an “online presentation” and address questions from the entire class towards 15% of his/her grade; PLUS s/he will be required to constructively post meaning questions/comment on other student’s presentations towards another 15%.

There won’t be any presentation for weeks 1 and 2. The topics for presentation will be posted in the modules.

Weeks 3-14 will be open for signing up for a presentation, with 1 slot for each week. Students must sign up for their preferred week by the end of week 2 before the Module 3 starts.  Two/three students team up for each presentation. The team size will depend on the total class size.

Each team presentation will last for maximum 25-30 minutes each containing maximum 15-18 easily readable slides. The presentations will be in the form of Voice-over-PowerPoint videos, created using VoiceThread and posted on reserved discussion forums.

A VoiceThread guide on how to use this tool will be made available in the Course Information section. After the presentation, the student-team will be asked to share the presentation and the slides with the entire class (PDF file).

If you are not one of the presenters for that week, you are expected to view the presentation and post questions/comment etc. by the end of Day 6, which the presenter should be addressing by the end of Day 7. The presentation and the commenting will be graded as follows:

Innovation Project (30% of Final Grade Calculation)

During the weeks 9-14 of the course, you will work to create an innovative idea for a medical sensor or a biomedical device design and/or an innovative application. The final deliverable will be the 5 to 7 page write-up for the innovation project proposal. Based on what you know and learn, you will be challenged to come up with an innovation at ANY level of medical sensors.  It may be a completely novel idea for a new type of sensor, it may be a novel design, or novel application, or even a novel way of doing the current things!

You will be challenged to individually create a single, original, novel idea for any medical sensor/device/application in any branch of medicine and present it in the form similar to a small business innovation research (SBIR) grant.

You will be expected to submit the project write-up in the form of a 5-page paper by the end of the Day 7 of the last module. But before that one by one components will be due as mentioned in the course outline document.

Please discuss your idea/title with Dr. Maybhate well before the Week 9 starts, say during week 8. Please ask for help if you have difficulty coming up with ideas. You are encouraged to discuss/brainstorm among each other throughout the process; however, you should refrain from either lifting someone’s idea or spoon-feeding it to someone.

An example successful grant previously written by Dr. Maybhate will be shared with the students.

Your write-up will have 5 pages with 1 page for Abstract, Hypothesis, and Aims.

And 4 pages for different components – The Clinical Need/Rationale, Significance, Innovations, Theory + Validation Methods, Expected Outcome, Path for Technology Development, Envisioned Clinical Trial, Market Research, References (min 15- max 20).

More information about the Innovation Project is available in the Course Information section.

This mini-proposal will comprise 30% of the student grade. The grading criteria will be as follows:

Important Note: Each of the sections above will carry 10% of the project grade + 10% for extra credit for overall quality of writing; presence and quality of illustrations, and an “Aha!” factor.

Grading Policy

Student assignments are due according to the dates in the Calendar and Assignments items in the corresponding modules. Dr. Maybhate will post grades one week after assignment due dates.

I generally do not directly grade spelling and grammar. However, egregious violations of the rules of the English language will be noted without comment. Consistently poor performance in either spelling or grammar is taken as an indication of poor written communication ability that may detract from your grade.

A grade of A indicates achievement of consistent excellence and distinction throughout the course—that is, conspicuous excellence in all aspects of assignments and discussion in every week.

A grade of B indicates work that meets all course requirements on a level appropriate for graduate academic work. These criteria apply to both undergraduates and graduate students taking the course.

EP uses the “+/-” grading system (see “Grading System”, Graduate Programs catalog, p. 10). The following grades are used for the courses: A+, A, A– (excellent), B+, B, B– (good), C (unsatisfactory), F (failure), I (incomplete), W (official withdrawal), and AU (audit). The last two are not assigned by instructors.

This course will use the same grading system, with the following breakdown:

100–98 = A+

97–94 = A

93–90 = A−

89–87 = B+

86–83 = B

82–80 = B−

79–70 = C

Final grades will be determined by the following weighting:

Academic Policies

Deadlines for Adding, Dropping and Withdrawing from Courses

Students may add a course up to one week after the start of the term for that particular course. Students may drop courses according to the drop deadlines outlined in the EP academic calendar (https://ep.jhu.edu/student-services/academic-calendar/). Between the 6th week of the class and prior to the final withdrawal deadline, a student may withdraw from a course with a W on their academic record. A record of the course will remain on the academic record with a W appearing in the grade column to indicate that the student registered and withdrew from the course.

Academic Misconduct Policy

All students are required to read, know, and comply with the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) / Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Procedures for Handling Allegations of Misconduct by Full-Time and Part-Time Graduate Students.

This policy prohibits academic misconduct, including but not limited to the following: cheating or facilitating cheating; plagiarism; reuse of assignments; unauthorized collaboration; alteration of graded assignments; and unfair competition. Course materials (old assignments, texts, or examinations, etc.) should not be shared unless authorized by the course instructor. Any questions related to this policy should be directed to EP’s academic integrity officer at ep-academic-integrity@jhu.edu.

Students with Disabilities - Accommodations and Accessibility

Johns Hopkins University values diversity and inclusion. We are committed to providing welcoming, equitable, and accessible educational experiences for all students. Students with disabilities (including those with psychological conditions, medical conditions and temporary disabilities) can request accommodations for this course by providing an Accommodation Letter issued by Student Disability Services (SDS). Please request accommodations for this course as early as possible to provide time for effective communication and arrangements.

For further information or to start the process of requesting accommodations, please contact Student Disability Services at Engineering for Professionals, ep-disability-svcs@jhu.edu.

Student Conduct Code

The fundamental purpose of the JHU regulation of student conduct is to promote and to protect the health, safety, welfare, property, and rights of all members of the University community as well as to promote the orderly operation of the University and to safeguard its property and facilities. As members of the University community, students accept certain responsibilities which support the educational mission and create an environment in which all students are afforded the same opportunity to succeed academically. 

For a full description of the code please visit the following website: https://studentaffairs.jhu.edu/policies-guidelines/student-code/

Classroom Climate

JHU is committed to creating a classroom environment that values the diversity of experiences and perspectives that all students bring. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Fostering an inclusive climate is important. Research and experience show that students who interact with peers who are different from themselves learn new things and experience tangible educational outcomes. At no time in this learning process should someone be singled out or treated unequally on the basis of any seen or unseen part of their identity. 
 
If you have concerns in this course about harassment, discrimination, or any unequal treatment, or if you seek accommodations or resources, please reach out to the course instructor directly. Reporting will never impact your course grade. You may also share concerns with your program chair, the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, or the Office of Institutional Equity. In handling reports, people will protect your privacy as much as possible, but faculty and staff are required to officially report information for some cases (e.g. sexual harassment).

Course Auditing

When a student enrolls in an EP course with “audit” status, the student must reach an understanding with the instructor as to what is required to earn the “audit.” If the student does not meet those expectations, the instructor must notify the EP Registration Team [EP-Registration@exchange.johnshopkins.edu] in order for the student to be retroactively dropped or withdrawn from the course (depending on when the "audit" was requested and in accordance with EP registration deadlines). All lecture content will remain accessible to auditing students, but access to all other course material is left to the discretion of the instructor.