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CHAPTER-5
5.1 UNIVERS II AMPLIFIER: UNIVERS II Amplifier is used, to capture the Breathing signal. This Amplifier consists of six channels for the simultaneous measurement of EEG, ECG, PPG and Breathing. The output of the phototransistor, a current proportional to the amount of radiation received after getting scattered from the skin, is fed into the Current to voltage converter, which inverts current to voltage. This inversion is carried out by the Univers II amplifier. The UNIVERS II amplifier has provisions for adjusting the amount of amplification to be performed. The signals can be measured either linearly or after passing through a low pass or high pass filter. In our work, the low pass filters were used, to remove the high frequency noise components. The output of the UNIVERS II Amplifier is fed into the Analog to Digital Converter (SENG DIGITAL SYSTEMS). The Digital data is fed into the Parallel port of the computer and the real time signal was captured using DIADEM software version 7.0. Two types of electronic temperature sensing devices are found in biomedical applications. They are the thermocouple and the thermistor. Thermistors are more sensitive and are frequently used than thermocouples. It is a widely used as a thermal sensor and respiration sensor. The thermistors are used to measure differential breathing rate measurement as it measures the air flow through the nostril. The two thermistor channels in the UNIVERS II system are used to measure the signals. The DIADEM

SOFTWARE was used to perform the signal analysis of the obtained Breathing signal. Simple Fast Fourier Transform and Power Spectral

Density analysis were done on the acquired breathing signal.

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5.2 EXPERIMENTAL SETUP AND DATA ACQUISITION The PPG sensors were properly placed on the left and right temples of the subject with the Tx and the Rx in line with blood vessel, after thoroughly cleaning the surface of the skin with clinical spirit to avoid dust related artifacts. The subject is also requested not make any movements when the measurement is in progress in order to record a superior quality signal free from motion artifacts. Then the thermistors with dimensions in the order of few microns are introduced into the left and right nostrils of the subject without causing any irritation to him, this will give a recording of the breathing pattern for the left and right nostrils that are independent of each other. Finally the ECG sensors are placed appropriately. The sensors placements, amplification settings, filter settings, ambient light in the room and all the other necessary connections are thoroughly crosschecked by two people before the experiment began. Figure 5.1 shows the picture of subject under study with all the sensors placed appropriately.

Figure 5.1. Subject under study

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Figure 5.2 shows a typical PPG signal from the modified optical sensor with some artifacts. Any variation in the optical coupling, between the sensor head and the subject, or physiological changes which dynamically alter the transmitted light give rise to what is commonly termed as motion artifact [14]. In fact even a simple movement may produce a complex motion artifact. Ambient light can also cause artifact by coupling to the probe receiver, either directly or by transmission through tissue. Whilst it is theoretically straightforward to remove ambient artifact, practical limitations mean that sufficiently bright or high frequency artificial light sources can still cause artifact. The normal PPG signal, which is free from artifacts, is shown in the figure 5.3. Figures 5.4 and Figure 5.5 show the breathing signal and ECG signal recorded under normal breathing conditions respectively.
a
Amplitude

Time in seconds

Figure 5.2 (a). Raw PPG Signal. Figure 5.2 (b). Filtered PPG signal.

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Figure 5.3: Atypical PPG signal free of any artifact

Figure 5.4: Atypical breathing signal free of any artifact

Figure 5.5: Atypical ECG signal free of any artifact

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5.3 PROTOCOL FOLLOWED WHILE MAKING THE MEASUREMENTS (PROCEDURE) The measurements are carried out with the above setup under two different breathing conditions viz. Normal breathing and Deep breathing, each for duration of 5-10 minutes with a time gap of 5 minutes between them. Protocols for normal and deep breathing are discussed above. Measurements were also made on the subjects who were made to relax through autogenic relaxation technique for comparison. Autogenic relaxation is done by visualizing every part of the body and feeling that it is relaxed, this kind of relaxation done for 15 minutes before the measurement is started on that subject. This autogenic relaxation technique was suggested by Sanyasi Krishna Yogam, Chennai and the measurements were made on subjects trained by him. Seven male subjects and three female subjects with a mean age of 22 years with no breathing disorders are taken for the present study 5.4 DATA LOGGING AND FILTERING The Universes II system that is capable of recording PPG, breathing and ECG signals synchronized in time is used for making the measurements in the present study. The PPG, breathing and the ECG signals are recorded at a sampling rate of 250Hz. The measurement system has a built in notch filter for removing the 50 Hz noise. The system also has an inbuilt variable filter confined to each channel, this was used as a 25Hz low-pass filter for removing other noises while making the measurements. The resulting graph gives a good idea on how the signal develops with respect to time focusing on the signal shape and amplitude.