Life Science Hardware and Software

A growing health risk in modern times is the increased amount of time the average person spends sitting. Whether at work for 8 hours at a computer or on the couch all day watching a favorite show, sitting contributes to a sedentary lifestyle, which is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It has been found that even those who exercise regularly, yet spend a prolonged portion of their day seated, have increased risk of similar ailments. Though many health risks of sitting are known, there has been little research on its impact on the musculoskeletal system. Physical therapists have noted an inexplicably high rate of clinical weakness of the gluteus maximus muscle. Doctoral candidates in physical therapy at City University of New York recently published a capstone project on their hypothesis that the habit of prolonged sitting directly leads to weakening of the gluteus maximus and the hamstrings. In the experiment, subjects were asked, after a brief warm-up, to perform maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) for both muscle groups. In addition, two functional activities were performed by the subjects: a “sit-to-stand” exercise and a “forward step-up” exercise. The subjects were separated into two groups based on their sitting/standing habits throughout the day. Surface EMG signals were recorded from the subjects using a BioNomadix wireless EMG Transmitter and Receiver set, along with an MP150 data acquisition system. Using AcqKnowledge software, the researchers were able to process the raw EMG signals with automated data reduction routines and statistical analysis. Further analysis of the data found no statistically significant differences in gluteus strength between the two groups. However, the group still believes that there remains to be studied the muscular effects of prolonged sitting. Further studies may be benefitted by the use of the BioNomadix Logger for continuous, 24-hour logging of a range of physiological signals. BIOPAC offers BioNomadix wireless physiology systems and a number of other solutions for EMG and other signals and measurements.

Schizophrenia has long been known to be a very complicated and poorly understood cognitive disorder. To attempt to understand the differences in emotional processing in schizophrenic patients, psychologists use physiological parameters to quantify psychological activity. Researchers Peterman et al. performed a study in which Galvanic Skin Response (GSR or EDA) and Facial Electromyography (fEMG) were recorded in schizophrenic and control subjects in response to social stimuli to assess the differences in adaptive emotional response. To measure these signals, they used wireless BIOPAC BioNomadix amplifiers, one for GSR (BN-PPGED) and two for fEMG (BN-EMG2). The participants were asked to view a block of images of the same category (e.g., social positive, non-social negative, etc.), then select a positivity response (valence rating) as to how they felt about the images. Subjects viewed several blocks of images to evoke differing responses. The self-reported valence ratings were paired to physiological data acquired with wireless BioNomadix transmitters. The GSR and fEMG were collected with an MP150 data acquisition system, and the data was analyzed with AcqKnowledge software. Researchers found that the Schizophrenic subjects responded similarly to the controls in the valence ratings, but their GSR and fEMG data diverged significantly. The Schizophrenic subjects showed a stronger overall GSR response to the images; however they did not show an effect by the sociality of the pictures. The fEMG response was also greater overall in the Schizophrenic group, but also did not vary by sociality. The results provide physiological background to the disrupted self-awareness of emotion processing in Schizophrenics. The complexity of emotion processing in cognitive disorders continues to elude us and to pave new avenues for scientific study. Along with the BioNomadix modules used in the study, BIOPAC Systems offers several wireless, wearable physiological data acquisition and analysis systems for psychophysiological research.

Exercise researchers at Johns Hopkins University recently performed a study regarding the effectiveness of using short-term heart rate variability (HRV) as a means to monitor the efficiency and safety of cycling activity. Though it had been previously shown that beat-by-beat heart rate data is a good indicator of physiological stress, the potential value of short-term HRV as an automated assessment of exertion level was unknown. The study was designed as such: subjects were asked to perform a 13-minute cycling exercise on an interactive Biking Exercise program, and HRV data was recorded with an electrocardiogram transmitter. Time periods denoting different levels of exercise before and during the program were classified as “rest,” “highest exertion” and “recovery.” A BIOPAC BN-RSPEC wireless ECG and Respiration transmitter/receiver pair was used to acquire appropriate heart rate data. Data from the wireless ECG amplifier was sampled by an MP150 data acquisition system connected to a standard laptop PC. From each subject, nine sets of ECG data were obtained—three each for rest, highest exertion, and recovery time periods. These data sets were recorded with AcqKnowledge software. Further analysis showed significant differences were found among seven HRV variables between time-domains characterized by differing levels of physical exertion. These data were shown to closely match their predictive model. This allowed researchers to conclude that the HRV coupled to time-domain indices separated by exertion level accurately reflected autonomic balance and stress levels during the exercise program. This suggests HRV data can be used short term to measure the efficacy of home-based exercise programs. BIOPAC Systems offers a variety of solutions for Heart Rate Variability and ECG extraction including wireless, wearable and MRI applications. Use of these physiological parameters can be utilized in further studies, continuing to examine and compare the benefits of home-based cycling and other exercise programs for subjects with differing lifestyles and clinical conditions.

Researchers have been investigating the use of a promising, yet not entirely understood technique known as seismocardiography. This method takes advantage of natural vibrations produced by the cardiovascular system by recording with accelerometers, and using obtained data to make inferences about the state of health of the subject. Its use has shown promise as a noninvasive technique to measure heart health in both clinical and ambulatory environments. Researchers Paukkunen et al. have recently studied the three-dimensional vibration patterns of the cardiovascular system in an attempt to quantify them and make connections to the health of their subjects. To supplement their data, the researchers used a BIOPAC ECG amplifier and wireless respiration transducer to gain insight into the cardiovascular health of participants. Data was collected and analyzed from both a group of healthy subjects as well as a group of those affected by atrial flutter.  The accelerometer and ECG/Respiration data was analyzed with AcqKnowledge, in an effort to understand more about the 3D vibration patterns and their use as indicators for disease. What the researchers found was that the data did differ significantly between the healthy subjects and those with heart flutter. How the data differed was in the relative location of these vibration events occurring in different parts of the cardiovascular system. By comparing to consistent cardiology data, the researchers were able to produce results that suggested that spatial distribution of seismocardiographic events. BIOPAC Systems offers these solutions and others for cardiology, with products designed for reliable, consistent data acquisition and analysis for wireless and wearable use in a variety of environments. This research sets the stage for further investigation into the potential use of seismocardiography to catch signs of heart disease easily and affordably, providing a new weapon for our long-lasting battle for cardiovascular health.