Units
Microprocessors and Instrumentation
Unit code: PCN114
Contact hours: 4 per week
Credit points: 12
Information about fees and unit costs
This unit includes the capabilities and limitations of a given instrument; design of interfaces between microcomputers and transducers; signal conditioning and signal conversion circuits for data acquisition.
Availability
| Semester | Available |
|---|---|
| 2013 Semester 1 | Yes |
Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013
Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.
Rationale
All areas of medical physics require the use of instruments for the measurement of physical parameter, for example pressure and volume measurements in respiratory medicine, electric potential measurements in cardiology and dosimetry of ionising radiation in radiotherapy and radiology. The modern trend in instrument design is for instruments to contain some intelligence in the form of microprocessor control.
Aims
The aim of this unit is for you to learn about the electronic components and circuits of the subsystems used in a medical instrument, e.g. analogue circuits, digital circuits and microcontrollers.
Objectives
On completion of this unit the student should be able to:
1. Understand the capabilities and limitations of a given instrument.
2. Select appropriate transducers and signal conditioning circuits for the measurement of a particular physical parameter.
3. Design a medical instrument with embedded analogue and digital subsystems.
Content
1. Ideal and real-world operational amplifiers, followers, inverting and non-inverting amplifiers
2. Differential and instrumentation amplifiers
3. Analogue filters
5. Transducers (temperature, pressure, electric, radiation)
6. Analogue to digital converters (ADC), sampling theorem
7. Digital electronics: logic gates, Boolean algebra, flip-flops, binary counters and adders
8. Microcontroller hardware
9. Assembly language programming: coding, program control, loops, subroutines
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Teaching will consist of formal lectures of 2 hours per week and practical laboratory exercises of 3 hours per week.
Assessment
All assessment contributes to your grade.Feedback will be provided on your progress.
Assessment name:
Report
Description:
Continuous assessment of written reports on laboratory practicals.
Relates to objectives:
All.
Weight:
50%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
Progressive
Assessment name:
Examination (Theory)
Description:
Written theory examination.
Relates to objectives:
All.
Weight:
50%
Internal or external:
Internal
Group or individual:
Individual
Due date:
See Blackboard Site
Academic Honesty
QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.
A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.
Resource materials
Extensive notes are supplied on the Blackboard site.
Risk assessment statement
This unit has a significant prac component and all students are required to attend a short (approximately 10 minute) laboratory health and safety induction session in the electronics laboratory at the beginning of semester.
Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.
Last modified: 19-Oct-2012
