Amplifiers for Biological

Measurement
Amplifiers for Biological Measurement
• AC/DC Universal Amplifier: Used for all bio signal measurement. It is
used with special features such as capacity neutralization, current
injection, low leakage current and low DC drift suitable for
intracellular measurements through high resistance fluid filled
catheter electrodes or to make extracellular recordings through metal
microelectrodes for EMG, EEG, EOG etc.
• ECG Amplifier with full 12 lead selection and patient isolation
• Pre-amplifier
• Isolation amplifier
• A transducer amplifier – Suited for bridge measurements on strain
gauges, strain gauge-based blood pressure transducers, force
transducers, resistance temperature devices and direct low level dc
input signals
• A dc Amplifier used in conjunction with standard thermistor probes
for the accurate measurement of temperature within the range of
medical applications
AC Coupled Amplifiers
• AC coupled amplifiers have a limited frequency response and are
therefore used only for special medical applications such as ECG
machine.
• Work for particular range of gain
• For electrocardiograms, an ac amplifier with a sensitivity, giving 0.5
mV/cm, and frequency up to 1KHz and an input impedance of 2 to 5
MΩ is used.
• For such applications as retinography, EEG and EMG, more
sensitive ac amplifiers are required, giving a chart sensitivity of
50µV/cm with a high input impedance of over 10MΩ
Carrier Amplifier
• Carrier amplifiers are used with transducers which require an
external source of excitation.
• They are characterized by high gain, negligible drift, extremely low
noise and the ability to operate with resistive, inductive or capacitive
type transducers.
• They essentially contain a carrier oscillator, a bridge balance and
calibration circuit, a high gain ac amplifier, a phase-sensitive
detector( which will detect excitation source from biosignal) and a dc
output amplifier.
DC Amplifier
• DC amplifiers are generally of the negative feedback type and are used
for medium gain applications down to about 1mV signal levels for
full scale.
• They are not practical for very low-level applications because of dc
drift and poor common mode rejection capabilities.
• They are usually employed as pen drive amplifiers in direct writing
recorders.
Chopper input dc amplifiers
• They are preferred for low level inputs to instrumentation systems
because of their high sensitivity, negligible drift and excellent
common mode rejection capability.
• Their high frequency response is limited to about one half of the
input chopper frequency.
Chopper stabilized dc amplifiers
• They are used for low level but preferably wideband application such
as oscilloscopes, tape recorders and light beam oscilloscope
recorders.
• These are complex amplifiers having three amplifiers incorporated in
the module.
• This includes an ac amplifier for signals above about 20Hz, a dc
chopper input amplifiers for signals from about 20Hz down to dc plus
a wideband feedback stabilized dc amplifier.
DC bridge amplifiers
• Dc bridge amplifiers are employed with resistive transducers which
require an external source of excitation.
• Essentially, the amplifier comprises of stable dc excitation source, a
bridge balance and calibration unit, a high gain differential dc
amplifiers and offer operating simplicity and high frequency response.
• These amplifiers are necessary for transducers used to measure
temperature and blood pressure.
• The sensitivity in these cases may be 50 µV/m with an input
impedance of 50 KΩ
Differential Amplifiers
• A differential amplifier produces an output voltage that is proportional
to the difference between the voltage applied to the two input
terminals.
• The voltage gain for the differential signals is the same as for the
inverting followers, provided the ratio equality of resistances is
maintained.
• Differential amplifiers are useful because it rejects common voltages
while amplifying differential signal of interest.
• Differential Amplifiers are made of Opamp
Differential Amplifier
• It is one which will reject any common mode signal that appears
simultaneously at both amplifier input terminals and amplifiers only
the difference that appears across its input terminal
• Most of the amplifiers used for measuring bioelectric signals are of the
differential type.
• Medical amplifiers designed for use in the input stage (preamplifiers)
are mostly of the differential type.
• These type have three input terminals out of which one is arranged at
the reference potential and the other two are live terminals.
• The differential amplifier is employed when it is necessary to measure
the voltage between two points, both of them varying in amplitude at
different rates and in different patterns.
• Excellent device for use in recording systems.
• Its ability to reject common-mode interference signals which are
invariably picked up by electrodes from the body along with useful
bioelectric signals
• The direct coupled amplifier, it has good stability and versatility.
• The direct coupled amplifier, it has good stability and versatility.
• High stability is achieved because it can be insensitive to temperature
changes which is often the source of excessive drift in other
configurations.
• It is versatile (adaptable) for many applications requiring floating
inputs and outputs or for applications where grounded inputs and
outputs
Differential Amplifiers with Transistors
•Differential Mode Signal : The signal is to be such that at
each input terminal it is equal in amplitude but opposite in
phase with reference to the ground. This signal is known as
the differential mode signal.
•This results in a difference voltage between the two input
terminals that is proportional to the gain of the transistors.
•Common mode signal: If the signal is applied to each input
terminal is equal in amplitude and is in the same phase the
signal is known as common mode signal.
CMRR
• The ability of amplifier to reject these common voltages on its two input
leads is known as Common-mode rejection and is specified as the ratio of
common-mode input to differential input to elicit the same response. It is
called as Common Mode Rejection Ratio.
• CMRR is important specification for differential amplifier and expressed in
decibels.
• High CMRR good working of differential amplifier.
• High rejection ratio is usually achieved using a matched pair of transistors in
the input stage of preamplifier and a large ‘tail’ resistance in the long-tailed
pair to provide maximum negative feedback for in phase signals. The
technique of long-tailing improves the CMRR in differential amplifier
without upsetting the gain for the desired signal.
• Identical transistors same length of wire long tail pair resistor – to attain high
CMRR
 Differential Amplifier

• One-amp differential
amplifier
• gain determination -
• Rule 1: virtual short at op-amp inputs Vin
• Rule 2: no current into op-amp +

gain of differential amplifier

• characteristics
• no common mode gain, Gc = 1
• input resistance of the diff. amp is lower than ideal op-amp
• OK for low resistance sources (like Wheatstone bridge), but not good for
many biomedical applications

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Instrumentation Amplifier
• Advantages
• Solution to both high gain and high input impedance
• High gain with low resistor values
• Extremely high input impedance
• Superior rejection of common mode signals
• 3 Op-amps- 2 input amplifiers connected in non-inverting configuration
1 is connected in the simple dc differential circuit.
 Instrumentation Amplifier

• Better option:

• connect Ri’s of input amps together

• eliminate ground connection

• This 3-op-amp circuit is called an instrumentation amplifier

• Input stage characteristics
• low common-mode gain - rejects common mode voltages
(noise)
• high input impedance
• input stage gain adjusted by R1

21
 Instrumentation Amplifier
• Input stage
High input impedance
Buffers gain stage
No common mode gain
Can have differential gain

• Gain Stage
Differential gain, low input impedance

• Overall amplifier
Amplifies only the differential component
High common mode rejection ratio
High input impedance suitable for biopotential
electrodes with high output impedance

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• Find the gain of an Instrumentation Amplifier if the resistor values are
R1 = 10KΩ, Rg=500 Ω, R2= 10KΩ and R3= 100KΩ
 ECG Amplifier

instrumentation amplifier HPF

non-inverting amp

This ECG amplifier has a gain of 25 in the dc-coupled stages. The high-pass filter feeds a
noninverting-amplifier stage that has a gain of 32. The total gain is 25 32 ¼ 800. When mA 776 op
amps were used, the circuit was found to have a CMRR of 86 dB at 100 Hz and a noise level of 40
mV peak to peak at the output. The frequency response was 0.05 to 106 Hz for 3 dB and was flat
over 4 to 40 Hz. A single op-amp chip, the LM 324, that contains four individual op amps could also
be used in this circuit reducing the total parts count.
24
ISOLATION AMPLIFIERS
• Isolation amplifiers are commonly used for providing against leakage
currents in biomedical recorders such as ECG machine.
• They break the ohmic continuity of electric signals between the
input and output of the amplifier.
• The isolation includes different supply voltage sources and different
grounds on each side of the isolation barrier.
• To avoid cardiac shock.
Symbol of Isolation Amplifier
BLOCK DIAGRAM OF ISOLATION AMPLIFIER
 Isolation amplifier

Isolation is realized in the following technologies:

• Transformer isolation
• Opto-isolation.
Isolation provides a complete galvanic separation between the input
stage (patient) and the other part of the measure equipment.
Cases of Iso-Amp

• Optical cable is used as Isolation Amplifier

• Transformer is used as Isolation Amplifier
• Capacitive coupled Isolation Amplifier
Transformer used as Isolation Amplifier
Transformer coupled isolation Amplifier
ECG ISOLATION AMPLIFIER CIRCUIT
Optical Isolation Amplifier
Capacitive Isolation Amplifier
Advantages of Isolation Amplifier
The relative merits of the three types of isolation techniques are:
• All three types are in common use, though the transformer isolation amplifier is
more popular.
• Opto-coupled amplifier uses a minimum number of components and is cost
effective, followed by the transformer coupled amplifier. The capacitor coupled
amplifier is the most expensive.
• Opto-isolated amplifiers offer the lowest isolation voltage between input and
output; transformer coupled 1200 V and capacitance coupled 2200 V.
• Electrical isolation is the most commonly used technique to ensure patient
protection against electrical hazards. Instruments such as electrocardiographs,
pressure monitors, pressure transducers, pacemakers and others have been
designed to electrically separate the portion of the circuit to which the patient is
connected from the portion of the circuit connected to the ac power line and
ground.
• An overall consideration in designing for safety is the principle of single fault
condition.
• A medical electrical product must be designed so that it operates safely not only in
normal conditions, but also in abnormal and single fault conditions.
Surge protection of the bioamplifiers

Protection of the amplifier from damage due to surge input

potentials.

•Diodes
•Zener diodes
•Gas-discharge tubes
Right Leg Driven ECG Amplifier
• It is an electric circuit that is often added to biological signal
amplifiers to reduce common-mode interference
• Biological signal amplifiers such as ECG,EEG,EMG circuits measure
very small electrical signals emitted by the body, often as small as
several microvolts.
• The patient’s body can also act as an antenna which picks up
electromagnetic interference, especially 50/60 Hz noise from electrical
powerlines.
• This interference can obscure the biological signals, making them very
hard to measure.
• Right leg driver circuitry is used to eliminate interference noise by
actively cancelling the interference.
Objective
• Reduce interference in amplifier
• Improve patient safety
• To minimize common mode signal between the body of the patient
and floating ground
Approach
• Patient right leg tied to output of an auxiliary amplifier rather than
ground
• Common mode voltage on body sensed by averaging resistors.
• Provides negative feedback to reduce common mode voltage
• If high voltage appears between patient and ground, auxiliary Op-amp
effectively un-grounds the patient to stop current flow
• The common mode signals
after amplification in a
pre-amplifier are inverted
and feedback to the right leg
electrode, reducing the
common mode voltage on
the input with respect to
floating ground
The presence of stray capacitance
at the input of the preamplifier
causes common-mode currents
to flow in LA and RA, resulting
in a voltage drop at the electrode
resistors. An imbalance of the
stray capacitance or the
electrode resistors causes a
difference signal.
The potentials at A,B and C are
equalized through an in-phase
component of the common-mode
voltage, which the amplifier
delivers via C1,C2 to LA and RA.
As a result, the potentials at A,B
and C are kept quite equal,
independent of the imbalance int
the electrode resistors and stray
capacitance.
 Input guarding
Technique for increase both the input impedance of the amplifier of
biopotentials and the CMRR
Instrumentation
amplifier providing
input guarding

Driven-right-leg circuit reducing

common-mode interference.
CARRIER AMPLIFIER
• A direct-current amplifier (DC current)
• The dc input signal is filtered by a lowpass filter, then used to
modulate a carrier so it can be amplified conventionally as an
alternating-current signal
• The amplified dc output is obtained by rectifying and filtering the
rectified carrier signal.
• To obtain zero frequency response of the dc amplifier and the inherent
stability of the capacitance coupled amplifier, a carrier type of
amplifier is generally used.
• The carrier amplifier consists of an oscillator and a capacitance coupled
amplifier. The oscillator is used to energize the transducer with an
alternating carrier voltage. The transducers, which require ac excitation,
are those whose impedance is not purely resistive.
• Transducer shall change the amplitude of the carrier voltage in relation to
changes in the physiological variable being measured.
• Output of transducer would be an amplitude modulated signal.
• Modulated signal is given to multi-stage capacitance coupled amplifier
• First stage produces amplification of AM signal
• Second stage is constructed that it can respond only to signal frequency of
the carrier. It can be further amplified in following stage.
• The signal is demodulated in phase sensitive demodulator circuit. It
helps to extract amplified signal voltage after filter circuit. The voltage
produced by the demodulator can then be applied to the driver stage of the
writing system.
• Carrier amplifiers can be used with a resistance strain gauge transducer
such as a semiconductor strain gauge
• When used with pressure gauges, a calibration control is provided on the
carrier amplifier.
Lock-in Amplifier
• Lock-in amplifier is a useful version of the carrier technique
designed for measurement of low-level signals buried in noise.
• Thus, the difference between carrier amplifier and lock-in amplifier
is that the former is a general-purpose instrument amplifier while
the latter is designed to measure signals in a noisy background.
Advantages
• It reduces wideband noise and increases the signal-to noise ratio.
• This permits the signal to be recovered from its noisy background
• In principle, the lock-in amplifier works by synchronizing on a single
frequency, called the reference frequency. This frequency is made to
contain the signal of interest.
• The signal is modulated by the reference frequency in such a way that all
the desired data is at the single reference frequency whereas the inevitable
noise, being broadband, is at all frequencies. This permits the signal to be
recovered from its noisy background.
CHOPPER AMPLIFIER – Isolated DC amplifier
• Chopper circuit used to refer to numerous types of electronic switching
devices and circuits used in power control and signal applications
• Chopper stabilizes a system against drift of electronic components
• The chopper amplifier is a useful device in the field of medical field
• It gives another solution to the problem of achieving adequate low
frequency response while avoiding the drift problem inherent in direct
coupled amplifiers
• This type of amplifier makes use of a chopping device, which converts a
slowly varying direct current to an alternating form with amplitude
proportional to the input direct current and with phase dependent on the
polarity of the original signal
• The alternating voltage is the amplified by a conventional ac amplifier
whose output is rectified back to get an amplified direct current.
• A chopper amplifier is an excellent device for signals of narrow bandwidth
and reduces the drift problem.
• Chopping the low frequency components of the input signal, amplifying
this chopped signal in an ac amplifier (A1) and then demodulating the
output of the ac amplifier.
• Low frequency components are derived from the input signal by passing it
through the low-pass filter, consisting of R2, C2 and R2.
• The filtered output is the further amplified in a second stage of dc
amplification (A2)
• Minor offsets and bias currents exist due to imperfect chopping, but these
are extremely small
• Switching-driving oscillator built on the module.
To avoid noise
• It is desirable to design the feedback networks and external wiring to
minimize the total circuit noise.
• It is advisable that a feedback capacitor be used to limit the overall
bandwidth and eliminate as much high frequency noise as possible
• Shielding of feedback components is desirable in chopper amplifiers
• It is particularly necessary in electrically noisy environments. Use of
shielded wire for summing junction leads is also recommended. Typical
voltage drift in chopper-stabilized amplifiers is 0.1 mV per degree Celsius
and current drift as 0.5 pA per degree Celsius
Advantages
• The great strength of the chopper-stabilized amplifier is its
insensitivity to component changes due to ageing, temperature
change, power supply variation or other environmental factors
• Chopper amplifiers are available in both single ended as well as
differential input configurations.
Applications
• Used in medical field in amplification of small dc signals. Such
order of amplitudes are obtainable from transducers such as strain
gauge pressure transducers, temperature sensors.
• It is suitable for use with a thermocouple
PATIENT SAFETY
TYPES OF SHOCK
Isolated Power Systems
GCFI- Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupters
Artifacts
Definition:
• Unwanted interference or noise that distorts the true physiological
signal.
Types of Artifacts:
• Physiological (caused by body movements, muscle contractions)
• Non-physiological (due to external equipment, electromagnetic
interference)
Common Types of Artifacts in Biomedical Signals
1. ECG Artifacts
• Motion artifacts, baseline wander, muscle activity
2. EEG Artifacts
• Eye movements, blinking, muscle contractions, electrode movement
3. EMG Artifacts
• Cross-talk from other muscles, electrical noise
Causes of Artifacts
Physiological Sources:
• Body movements (shivering, talking, coughing)
• Muscle contractions
• Breathing, heartbeat
Technical Sources:
• Electrode misplacement or poor contact
• Electrical interference from nearby devices
• Poor grounding of equipment
• Improper calibration of instruments
Impact of Artifacts on Biomedical Signals
• Effects on Accuracy
• False readings leading to incorrect diagnosis
• Misinterpretation of signal patterns
Examples:
• ECG showing incorrect heart rhythm due to baseline wander
• EEG indicating false brain activity
Artifact Removal Techniques: Filtering
Types of Filters:
• Low-pass filter: Removes high-frequency noise
• High-pass filter: Removes low-frequency artifacts like baseline drift
• Band-pass filter: Allows signals within a specific range
Application of Filters in ECG, EEG, etc.
• Example: Removing muscle noise in ECG using a high-pass filter
Artifact Removal Techniques: Electrode and
Sensor Adjustment
Proper Electrode Placement:
• Skin preparation (cleaning, shaving if necessary)
• Using appropriate gel or adhesive for good contact
Sensor Calibration:
• Regularly calibrating instruments to avoid drift or noise
Reducing Movement:
• Encouraging patients to stay still
• Using secure straps or adhesive for sensors
Artifact Removal Techniques: Signal
Processing
Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Techniques:
• Adaptive filtering (removes noise dynamically)
• Wavelet transform (decomposes the signal to remove artifacts)
• Fourier transform (frequency analysis and noise reduction)
Example:
• Adaptive filters in EEG to remove eye movement artifacts
Advanced Techniques for Artifact Reduction
Machine Learning and AI Techniques:
• Detecting and removing artifacts using pattern recognition
• Deep learning for accurate signal reconstruction
Signal Averaging:
• Averaging multiple signals to reduce random noise
Blind Source Separation (BSS):
• Separating true signals from artifacts using statistical methods
FILTERS
• Filters are circuits that are capable of passing signals within a band of
frequencies while rejecting or blocking signals of frequencies outside
this band. This property of filters is also called frequency selectivity.
• TYPES OF FILTERS
PASSIVE FILTERS
• The circuits built using RC,RL or RLC
• A passive filter component is a combination of capacitors and
inductors that are tuned to resonate at a single frequency, or through a
band of frequencies. In power systems, passive filters are used to
suppress harmonic currents and decrease voltage distortion appearing
in sensitive parts of the system.
ACTIVE FILTERS
• Active Low Pass Filter
• Active High Pass Filter
• Active Band Pass Filter
• Active Band Stop Filter
LOW PASS FILTER
• If an active filter allows (passes) only low frequency components and
rejects (blocks) all other high frequency components, then it is called
as an active low pass filter.
HIGH PASS FILTER
• If an active filter allows (passes) only high frequency components
and rejects (blocks) all other low frequency components, then it is
called an active high pass filter
BAND PASS FILTER
• If an active filter allows (passes) only one band of frequencies, then it
is called as an active band pass filter. In general, this frequency band
lies between low frequency range and high frequency range. So, active
band pass filter rejects (blocks) both low and high frequency
components
BAND STOP FILTER
• If an active filter rejects (blocks) a particular band of frequencies, then
it is called as an active band stop filter. In general, this frequency
band lies between low frequency range and high frequency range. So,
active band stop filter allows (passes) both low and high frequency
components.