Using Arduinos to Transition a Bioinstrumentation Lab to Remote Learning
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Biomedical Engineering Education ( 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-020-00042-9
Teaching Tips - Special Issue (COVID)
Using Arduinos to Transition a Bioinstrumentation Lab to Remote Learning ABICHE H. DEWILDE
and YANFEN LI
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Ave, Lowell, MA 01876, USA (Received 30 June 2020; accepted 13 November 2020)
CHALLENGE STATEMENT Bioinstrumentation is a required course in more than 75% of accredited BME programs.1 Like many other institutions, the bioinstrumentation lab at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell) is a junior level course designed to provide the students with fundamental understanding of electrical circuits, circuit components, and bioinstrument design. The course meets weekly and the students progress through a series of labs where they build, test, and troubleshoot basic biosensor circuits. Example labs include building voltage dividers, active and passive filters, electrocardiogram (ECG), and electromyograph (EMG). Typically, these labs use a variety of equipments including function generators and oscilloscopes. At UMass Lowell, we utilize the iWorx BIK-TA BioInstrumentation Physiology Teaching Kit.2 For the latter half of the semester, the lab course culminates in a team design project. For these projects, the students are typically placed into groups of 2-3 students to create an instrumentation device. The groups must propose, design, and execute a self-directed project to convert a raw biological signal into physiologically relevant data. This bioinstrument is expected to detect a signal with a chosen biosensor, modify this analog signal, and then supply a digital output. The groups must also conduct data analysis and then report their findings with an oral presentation and a scientific report. UMass Lowell transitioned abruptly to remote learning during the spring semester of 2020 during which students were preparing to conduct their last lab (EMG) and begin their final semester project in groups
Address correspondence to Yanfen Li, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 1 University Ave, Lowell, MA 01876, USA. Electronic mail: Yanfen_Li@uml. edu
of 2-3 students. Several challenges were presented in transitioning this bioinstrumentation lab—with a big project—to online. First, students were working from home without access to the equipment available from campus. Without access to sensors, circuit boards, function generators, and oscilloscopes, it was almost impossible for students to gain the hands-on experience of designing and building their own circuits. Second, the students had also lost access to each other. This made it difficult to facilitate group work and to provide support as students worked on their projects.
NOVEL INITIATIVE Since the students no longer had access to the iWorx teaching kits and biosensors available in the lab, alternatives were explored which allowed students to still build and test circuits from home. It was determined that a cheap al
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