Medical and Biological Analysis

Abstract

Medical and biological analysis refers to the engineering methods of signal processing as applied to measurements from human subjects, with the purpose of defining the differences between normal and pathological signals, in order to detect the presence of a disease process or detect changes in the status of a patient associated with treatment. As such, the focus of this chapter is on the identification of the sources of biomedical signals and their classification. This is followed by a historical background with emphasis on clinical applications and early quantitative and engineering approaches. Subsequently, the chapter presents classical engineering methods addressing signals in one dimension, focusing on traditional signal processing methods. It then describes some contemporary engineering approaches to medical and biological analysis, and concludes by addressing filters and noise removal and signal compensation.