Using virtual instrumentation to develop a modern biomedical engineering laboratory

his paper describes the development of a variety of classical biomedical experiments, particularlyfor use in a teaching laboratory. Several lab projects are described covering topics from basicelectrophysiology to cardiovascular hemodynamics. The common thread through all of theseexperiments is their PC-based nature, all of them being automated using LabVIEWTMorBioBenchTMsoftware from National Instruments. The exercises depicted are intended to introducestudents to fundamental concepts of biomedical experimentation, from the instrumentation anddata acquisition requirements to subsequent data analysis techniques. Each project has a basicanalysis section that effectively demonstrates physiological properties pertinent to the respectivestudies as well as an advanced analysis section that explores potential research topics relevant tothe experiments. The lab experiments are designed to interactively teach some of the fundamentaltheories associated with each field. This not only reinforces basic knowledge, but also trainsstudents in the application of these theories to laboratory research