Archive for February 2014

AcqKnowledge Electrocardiogram(ECG) Routines

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What is an ECG?
An ECG - or electrocardiogram – is a common test used to gauge heart health. It monitors the electrical activity of the heart, which can indicate problems related to heart rate and valve health. Other reasons an ECG may be performed are to:
  • Check how the heart responds to exercise (as with a classic treadmill test)
  • See if the walls of the heart chambers are hypertrophied
  • Discover the cause of specific symptoms of heart disease
  • An ECG calculates a wide range of valuable data valuable including:
  • Heart Rate
  • Heart Rhythm
  • Evidence of previous heart attacks
  • Possibility of coronary artery disease
  • Signs of decreased oxygen to the heart


The main types of ECG are:
Cardiac stress test - this one is recorded while the subject is active, usually walking on a treadmill or riding on an exercise bike. The typical time for this test is 15-30 minutes.
Ambulatory - This ECG test is done using a transportable recording device, often called a data logger, that is worn for 24 hours or more, with the subject free to move around in a normal fashion. This type of test is typically used to study infrequent symptoms that might not show up in a resting ECG test. The subject is usually asked to keep track of his/her own symptoms in a journal of some kind, keeping track of the time of each symptom to be later compared to the results of the ECG test.
Resting - This is the most common ECG test and is taken while the subject is lying down for usually 5-10 minutes. Subjects are instructed to keep as still as possible to avoid other muscle activity interfering with the activity of the heart.
Some possible limitations of an ECG test include:
Some irregularity surfacing through the test are false positives, often times not having any medical importance after further assessment is done.
The test can also show up negative for subjects with some form of heart disease including diagnosed coronary artery disease.

BIOPAC's ECG data acquisition software
AcqKnowledge includes the following automated ECG routines, as well as numerous other automated analysis routines and transformation tools:
Detect and Classify Heartbeats

Locate Human ECG Complex Boundaries

 Heart Rate Variability


    Personalize your package with specialized amplifiers, leads, electrodes, and/or transducers. Have the ability to record the max of 16 channels of high-fidelity ECG and additional physiological data either wirelessly with BioNomadix or via standard wired amplifiers.
    Contact BIOPAC today for more information.

    Physiological Amplifier Options in Research

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    When choosing which physiological amplifier to use in your research, the most important assets typically are accuracy, ease of use and time efficiency.

    BIOPAC’s biopotential amplifiers are not only user friendly and intuitive, but they can also easily be integrated with automatic data acquisition software. When you use AcqKnowledge software with a biopotential amplifier, you can automatically score data and extract measurements on a cycle-by-cycle basis.

    With over 15,000 amplifiers sold for research, BIOPAC is quickly becoming one of the most popular choices for universities.

    How Biopotential Amplifiers Work

    With a wide selection of physiological amplifiers to choose from, creating a system that suits your application requirements is easier than ever.

    The amplifiers are easy to snap together and pull apart for any needed substitutions. BIOPAC’s amplifiers also utilize advanced technology that allows you to use the amplifiers as stand-alone devices with the IPS100C isolated power supply mode.

    To use the biopotential amplifiers, simply connect to unshielded or shielded electrode leads which are terminating with Safelead/Touchproof (1.5 mm) sockets. To increase performance, you can use two shielded electrode leads and one unshielded electrode lead per amplifier.

    For added convenience and ease of use, BIOPAC also provides detailed video tutorials for each of its biopotential amplifiers.

    Physiological Amplifier Types

    BIOPAC offers a wide array of biopotential amplifiers including:

    ECG Electrocardiogram Amplifier – This amplifier records heart generated electrical activity, and can be used to effectively record ECG in humans, animals and isolated organ preparations. When used with the AcqKnowledge data acquisition software, the ECG amplifier will record data and pull out measurements of interest on a cycle-by-cycle basis.

    EEG Electroencephalogram Amplifier – The EEG amplifier shows bioelectric potentials related to neuronal activity of the brain, which is often used in recording unipolar or bipolar EEG measurements. You can use the Alpha detection mode to create a smoothed wave with a peak that indicates maximal alpha activity. Use this amplifier with AcqKnowledge software to automatically filter raw EEG signals and instantly create a full data analysis.

    EGG Electrogastrogram Amplifier – The EGG amplifier amplifies the electric signal which results from activity in the stomach and intestinal smooth muscle. Use the EGG amplifier in conjunction with AcqKnowledge software to automate the EGG gastric wave analysis routine and provide both single and multi-channel recordings.

    EMG Electromyogram Amplifier – Record general and skeletal muscle electrical activity with the EMG amplifier. The fast response amplifier can monitor a single-fiber EMG, motor unit and peripheral nerve action potentials. Much like the other biopotential amplifiers, the EMG amplifier is easily integrated with AcqKnowledge software for performing real-time EMG recording and analysis.

    EOG Electrooculogram Amplifier – The EOG amplifier monitors the DC potential on the skin surrounding the eyes, recording the degree of eye movement in any direction. As it amplifies corneal-retinal potential, the amplifier works with data acquisition software to automatically measure and graph eye movement.

    ERS Evoked Response Amplifier – The evoked response amplifier works by amplifying a small response to a certain stimulus. Because it emits extremely low noise, the amplifier is easily used in applications like auditory brainstem response, startle response, somatosensory evoked response and nerve conduction velocity recording. When used with the AcqKnowledge software, the ERS amplifier automatically generates accurate data recording and analysis.

    Learn More About Biopotential Amplifiers

    If you are interested in learning more about how BIOPAC’s state-of-the-art amplifiers can ease your application process and help you instantly create detailed analytic reports of your data, please contact BIOPAC Systems, Inc. You can also learn about BIOPAC’s extensive collection of transducer amplifiers on the BIOPAC website.
    BIOPAC is dedicated to developing innovative, high quality and competitively priced life sciences educational and research hardware and software designed to meet customers’ needs.

    Data Acquisition Software | Accelerometers

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    What Are Accelerometers?

    Accelerometers are widely used for measuring vibration in rotating machinery, moving vehicles, aircraft, in structures.  In this case, they are used for measuring small muscle vibrations in the body. 

    New types of accelerometers and integrated sensor systems are now replacing more traditional vibration sensors for a number of reasons such as lower cost, better performance, rugged design, and smaller size. The new devices offer increased sensitivity, a wider range of operating frequencies, and much wider range of application in industry.

    How do Accelerometers work?

    BIOPAC Accelerometer 50 G -TSD109F
    Accelerometers work in many different ways. Some accelerometers use the piezoelectric effect - containing microscopic crystal structures that get stressed by accelerative forces, causing a voltage to be generated. Another is by sensing changes in capacitance. If you have two microstructures next to each other, they have a certain capacitance between them. If an accelerative force moves one of the structures, the capacitance will change. Add circuitry to convert from capacitance to voltage, and you get an accelerometer. There are many other methods, including use of the piezo-resistive effect and light.

    What should I consider when choosing the right accelerometer:

    -Reproducibility of results
    You don't just want great results, you want results that are as accurate and reproducible as possible. 

    -Sensitivity - Generally speaking, the more sensitivity the better. This means that for a given change in acceleration, there will be a larger change in signal. Since larger signal changes are easier to measure, you will get more accurate readings.

    BIOPAC's TSD250

    The TSD250 is a sensitive accelerometer for use with BIOPAC Vibromyography Systems that use advanced signal analysis algorithms to monitor muscle vibration.

    Accelerometers are secured over the muscle belly and record the small vibrations that occur when the muscle is activated. The technique allows researchers to study muscle performance and strength balance.

    VMG provides extremely reproducible results. The single sensor solution and the lack of skin preparation improve the reliability and reproducibility of muscle effort recordings between muscles and across subjects.

    Learn More About TSD250 Data Acquisition Software

    If you are interested in learning more about gaining access to the best data acquisition software in the industry, please check out BIOPAC's Vibromyography Transducer TSD250.  (http://www.biopac.com/VMG-transducer)  

    BIOPAC is dedicated to developing innovative, high quality and competitively priced life sciences educational and research hardware and software designed to meet customers’ needs.

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