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Bioelectronics and Medical Devices: From Materials to Devices - Fabrication, Applications and Reliability
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Bioelectronics and Medical Devices: From Materials to Devices-Fabrication, Applications and Reliability reviews the latest research on electronic devices used in the healthcare sector, from materials, to applications, including biosensors, rehabilitation devices, drug delivery devices, and devices based on wireless technology. This information is presented from the unique interdisciplinary perspective of the editors and contributors, all with materials science, biomedical engineering, physics, and chemistry backgrounds. Each applicable chapter includes a discussion of these devices, from materials and fabrication, to reliability and technology applications. Case studies, future research directions and recommendations for additional readings are also included.
The book addresses hot topics, such as the latest, state-of the-art biosensing devices that have the ability for early detection of life-threatening diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and cancer. It covers rehabilitation devices and advancements, such as the devices that could be utilized by advanced-stage ALS patients to improve their interactions with the environment. In addition, electronic controlled delivery systems are reviewed, including those that are based on artificial intelligences.
Presents the latest topics, including MEMS-based fabrication of biomedical sensors, Internet of Things, certification of medical and drug delivery devices, and electrical safety considerations Presents the interdisciplinary perspective of materials scientists, biomedical engineers, physicists and chemists on biomedical electronic devices Features systematic coverage in each chapter, including recent advancements in the field, case studies, future research directions, and recommendations for additional readingsAzioni libro
Inizia a leggereInformazioni sul libro
Bioelectronics and Medical Devices: From Materials to Devices - Fabrication, Applications and Reliability
Descrizione
Bioelectronics and Medical Devices: From Materials to Devices-Fabrication, Applications and Reliability reviews the latest research on electronic devices used in the healthcare sector, from materials, to applications, including biosensors, rehabilitation devices, drug delivery devices, and devices based on wireless technology. This information is presented from the unique interdisciplinary perspective of the editors and contributors, all with materials science, biomedical engineering, physics, and chemistry backgrounds. Each applicable chapter includes a discussion of these devices, from materials and fabrication, to reliability and technology applications. Case studies, future research directions and recommendations for additional readings are also included.
The book addresses hot topics, such as the latest, state-of the-art biosensing devices that have the ability for early detection of life-threatening diseases, such as tuberculosis, HIV and cancer. It covers rehabilitation devices and advancements, such as the devices that could be utilized by advanced-stage ALS patients to improve their interactions with the environment. In addition, electronic controlled delivery systems are reviewed, including those that are based on artificial intelligences.
Presents the latest topics, including MEMS-based fabrication of biomedical sensors, Internet of Things, certification of medical and drug delivery devices, and electrical safety considerations Presents the interdisciplinary perspective of materials scientists, biomedical engineers, physicists and chemists on biomedical electronic devices Features systematic coverage in each chapter, including recent advancements in the field, case studies, future research directions, and recommendations for additional readingsAnteprima del libro
Bioelectronics and Medical Devices
Canada
1
Light-fidelity based biosignal transmission
Pratyush K. Patnaik¹, Suraj K. Nayak¹, Ashirbad Pradhan¹, Amrutha V¹, Champak Bhattacharya², Sirsendu S. Ray¹ and Kunal Pal¹, ¹Department of Biotechnology and Medical engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India, ²Health Center, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India
Abstract
The flickering of the light in the light emitting diode at a very high frequency is not perceived by the human eye. The phenomenon can be exploited for wirelessly transmitting data. In this regard, light-fidelity (Li-Fi) based wireless transmission has been proposed. The Li-Fi-based systems can transmit data at a rate of, as high as, 500 Mbits/s. Though it has shown a great potential in transmitting data packets in communication systems, it has not been explored to a great extent for transmitting biomedical signals in hospital environments. The Li-Fi-based wireless communication systems can offer several advantages over the conventional radio frequency (RF) wave-based communication systems. In this chapter, we discuss details about the Li-Fi-based communication systems over the RF-based communication systems with regards to human health. Further, we discuss the designing aspects of a simple Li-Fi-based electrocardiogram signal transmitter.
Keywords
Li-Fi communication system; RF communication system; biomedical signals; electrocardiogram; human health
Introduction
The use of electronic devices in current-day life has become indispensable. This is also true for the healthcare sector (Boyce, 2011; Free et al., 2010; Koivunen, Niemi, & Hupli, 2015). The use of electronic devices in the hospitals and diagnostic centers is rising (Raatikainen et al., 2015). This has helped in significantly reducing the workload on healthcare givers. This is important because of the low healthcare giver to patient ratio across the globe (Callaghan, Ford, & Schneider, 2010; Matthias & Benjamin, 2005). Electronic health-monitoring devices allow monitoring of the patient health conditions (Chiauzzi, Rodarte, & DasMahapatra, 2015; Such et al., 2007). Unfortunately, most of the devices, which help in the monitoring of the vital signs, are wired devices. Hence, the physiological signals have to be transferred to the monitoring station via wires, which are usually laid across the hospital. In this regard, many researchers and medical equipment companies have proposed transmission of biomedical signals via wireless technologies (Fan, Zhang, Liao, & Ren, 2018; Honda, Harada, Arie, Akita, & Takei, 2014; Varshney, 2007). This has been made possible due to the extensive advancements made in the field of both telecommunication and healthcare technologies. This type of biomedical signal transmission is categorized as telemedicine (Costello et al., 2017; Flodgren, Rachas, Farmer, Inzitari, & Shepperd, 2015).
There has been extensive research in the field of telemedicine in the last two decades (Kvedar, Coye, & Everett, 2014). Telemedicine focuses on the application of the electronic communication technologies in transferring the medical data of patients from one location to another location for improving their clinical health status (De La Torre-Díez, López-Coronado, Vaca, Aguado, & de Castro, 2015), and it has become an essential component in the healthcare delivery system (Wilson & Maeder, 2015). This has helped in the delivery of healthcare services in remote locations, thereby aiding to the vision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide adequate and equal access to healthcare services to every person across the globe (AlDossary, Martin-Khan, Bradford, & Smith, 2017).
Unfortunately, many of the current telemedicine technologies use electromagnetic (EM) radiation induced from Wi-Fi and mobiles for the transmission of the biomedical signals (Azizi et al., 2016; Nikolayev, Zhadobov, Karban, & Sauleau, 2018). EM radiations induced from Wi-Fi and mobiles have been reported to cause adverse physiological effect. In this regard, a recent study by Nazıroğlu and Akman (2014) has reported that such EM radiations can increase the oxidative stress in the brain with corresponding decrease in the natural antioxidants present in the brain. This neurophysiological alteration is detrimental to human health (Nazıroğlu & Akman, 2014). The same group further reported that these EM radiations also increase oxidative stress in the human reproductive system. Additionally, a change in the reproductive signaling pathway was also reported (Nazıroğlu, Yüksel, Köse, & Özkaya, 2013). Further, Avendano, Mata, Sarmiento, and Doncel (2012) reported that EM radiations from Wi-Fi can significantly reduce human sperm motility. The authors also reported that the EM radiations (from Wi-Fi) induce DNA fragmentation by a nonthermal effect (Avendano et al., 2012). A combination of the aforementioned reasons can reduce male fertility to a great extent (Avendano et al., 2012). Similarly, the detrimental effect of EM radiation exposure on the other vital organs (e.g., kidney and heart) has also been reported by various authors (Özorak et al., 2013). Hence, many researchers have proposed the need to find an alternative way of transmitting medical data without creating any health hazard.
In this regard, light fidelity (Li-Fi) protocol can be explored for telemedicine applications. The term Li-Fi was first coined by Harald Haas in 2011 (Haas, 2013). The purpose of the use of light is to use the vast amount of unused EM spectrum in the visible light region for wireless communication (Haas, Yin, Wang, & Chen, 2016). The Li-Fi protocol is a type of visible light communication (VLC), which uses a light emitting diode (LED) and a photodetector (e.g., P–I–N photodiode and Avalanche photodiode) for the transmission of the signals (Haas, 2013). As LED-based home lighting systems are now commonly used, Dr. Haas has proposed that the Li-Fi system can not only be used for illuminating the enclosed areas (rooms) but also can be used for data communication purposes (Haas, 2013). In a recent study, Dhatchayeny, Sewaiwar, Tiwari, and Chung (2015) demonstrated the transmission of the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals using Li-Fi technology. Taking an inspiration from the earlier detailed study, in this study, we propose to develop a low-cost electrocardiogram (ECG) signal wireless transmission system using Li-Fi technology. Initially, the testing of the developed device was done using the ECG simulator. Thereafter, the ECG signal from healthy human volunteers was transmitted using the developed device.
Literature review
VLC has been used for a long time (Arnon, 2015). Before the advent of the radio technology, Morse code using visible light was employed for communication (Yang, 2000). Pang, Kwan, Chan, and Liu (1999) reported the use of visible light for electronic data transmission. The current fed to the LEDs was used to modulate an audio signal and transmitted via light. An oscillator was used to modulate the audio signal. The optical receiver demodulated the signal and extracted the original audio signal to be played. The term Li-Fi was not yet coined. Komine and Nakagawa (2004) first used the idea of LED for the purpose of VLC (Komine & Nakagawa, 2004). An in-depth analysis of optical channel of sender and receiver was performed. One of the biggest sources of noise was reflection from the walls and the intersymbol interference. This suggested that the VLC using LED can reach the potential of 10 Gbps. Le Minh et al. (2008) suggested the use of 16 LEDs for designing a VLC system, which worked at the speed of 40 Mbps. The device consisted of 16 LEDs, each attached with a diffusing lens. The LEDs were modulated using high-speed buffers and were also provided with a current bias. The 16 LED panel was used to test the VLC line-of-sight link over the distance of 2 m. The LED was chosen because it provided the illumination required for typical office conditions (Le Minh et al., 2008).
In a study by O’Brien et al. (2008), VLC was used to achieve a data rate of 100 Mbps. Various techniques were used to increase the data rate, bandwidth, and signal noise ratio (SNR). The transmission mechanism involved combining the blue LED with a coating of phosphor, resulting in the emission of yellow light. The blue light mixed with yellow light resulted in a single-source white light. Transmitter and receiver equalization was used to achieve higher bandwidth and SNR. Optical filtering of the slow-emitting phosphor light also helped in improving the bandwidth. Multiple-input multiple-output was used, involving an array of LEDs, thus enhancing the data rate. Data rate higher than 100 Mbps, bandwidth of as high as 90 MHz, and SNR of 40 dB could be achieved with the modified techniques (O’Brien et al., 2008). Similar observations have been encountered by Le Minh et al. (2009), who have tried to model the functioning of the intensity of the white LED. Using the model, the speed of signal transmission was improved. Based on the results, the authors suggested that the white LED consists of a blue component of the LED and the overall yellow component of the phosphor. After analyzing the LED, they found that the yellow light responded until 2.5 MHz, whereas the blue light responded until 14 MHz. To increase the speed of data transmission, a blue filter was used to get a faster switching response from the blue light.
Ergul, Dinc, and Akan (2015) reviewed the state-of-the-art techniques in VLC and compared this with other communication mediums such as Bluetooth, radio frequency (RF), and infrared (IR). VLC techniques are relatively very cheap as compared to Bluetooth when transmitting at similar data rates. The major advantage of VLC over IR is its safety. IR has negative effects on the lens and retina when it comes in direct contact with the eye. Even though RF has been widely used for wireless communication, it has been known to interfere with electronic devices. RF can penetrate through walls but it decreases the data rate. Moreover, this feature helps in the leakage of information by hackers with malicious intent. VLC provides a dual advantage: it covers all the illumination area, and it is more secure because it does not penetrate walls. Singh, O’Farrell, and David (2014) devised a color shift modulation technique called color shift keying (CSK) that used RGB colors for transmitting multiple signals. The system employed RGB LEDs for transmitting the data, which were extracted and separated by the use of color filters. The normal white LED only provided response until 2 MHz. Singh et al. reported achieving a bandwidth of 50 MHz after applying equalization to the filtered blue light. Dhatchayeny et al. (2015) created a device that transmitted EEG signals via VLC. The EEG signal was transmitted via on-off keying and nonreturn to zero modulation. The signal was transmitted using three LEDs of different colors. Correspondingly, the signal was received by photodiodes covered by optical filters. The filters isolated the signals from different colored LEDs. However, the major drawbacks in the VLC transmission are achieving the high bandwidth at a very high complexity and a nonlinear relationship between current and optical power due to the optical power shifts in the white LEDs (Ergul et al., 2015).
In 2011, Harald Haas coined the term Li-Fi during his invited talk at TED Global 2011 (Haas, 2013). Li-Fi is regarded as the networking variant of VLC. The difference between VLC and Li-Fi is that VLC performs intensity modulation for the wireless transmission of data, and the principle of direct detection is used at the receiver end to detect the signal by a photodiode (Haas et al., 2016). Hence, VLC is regarded as a point-to-point data communication technique, which acts as a cable replacement (Rajagopal, Roberts, & Lim, 2012). On the other hand, Li-Fi provides a complete wireless networking system, involving bidirectional multiuser communication, so, it facilitates point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-point communication. Also, Li-Fi enables the enhancement of physical layer security due to local containment of Li-Fi signals and the blockage of the signals by opaque walls, which helps in managing the cochannel interference (Haas et al., 2016). Li-Fi systems can be made very fast, but Li-Fi can be applied efficiently in closed spaces only. It can be used in combination with a wired or a wireless communication system. In this way, reading lamps or any other lighting device can be used for the high-speed reception of data without the use of any link (Elgala, Mesleh, & Haas, 2011).
The use of Li-Fi systems for biomedical signal transmission has gained the attention of researchers in recent years (Moje, More, Soradge, & Kakade). Priyadharsini and Kunthavai (2017) reported the use of Li-Fi technology for the transmission of the biosignals, namely ECG, EEG, phonocardiogram, electrohysterogram, and electromyogram. The data transmission rate was 2400 bps, and on-off keying modulation was performed. The received physiological signals were found to be errorless to 10 and 18 cm distance for 3 and 10 W LEDs, respectively. Kumari and Dhanalakshmi (2018) designed a Li-Fi-based signal transmission system using a white LED and a photodiode as the transmitter and receiver, respectively. For demonstration purpose, ECG signals were transmitted using the proposed system, and the performance of the system was analyzed for different transmission distances. Taking the motivation from the above-discussed facts, this article proposes the development of a Li-Fi-based biosignal transmission system. Simulated ECG signals and real-time acquired ECG signals (from five young Indian male volunteers) were transmitted using the proposed system to test the suitability of the device.
Components and methodology
Components
Electrocardiogram (EKG) Sensor (Vernier Software and Technology, United States), Proto-Board Connector (Vernier Software and Technology, United States), IC7805 (Texas Instruments, United States), IC 7660 (Intersil Americas Inc., United States), IC OP07 (Analog Devices, United States), 5-mm Round White LED, Light Dependant Resistor (10 kΩ), Function Generator (DX 4050, Dynalog India Limited), Four-Channel Digital Storage Oscilloscope (DSO) (TDS 2014B, Tektronix Inc., United States), NI ELVIS II+ (National Instruments, United States), NI USB 6008 (National Instruments, United States), NI LabVIEW (Version 2013, National Instruments, United States), Biomedical Toolkit for LabVIEW (Version 2013), NI Multisim and Ultiboard (Version 2013, National Instruments, United States) were used in this study.
Methodology
Designing the hardware
Any wireless communication system consists of two units: a transmitter unit and a receiver unit. Hence, the hardware components of the proposed Li-Fi system for the transmission of biomedical signals also consisted of a transmitter and a receiver unit. In this study, the transmitter device was made such that it is capable of receiving signals from a single channel biomedical sensor. The output from the sensor was fed into a voltage buffer circuit. The voltage buffer circuit helps prevent the loading effect of the biomedical sensor output. The output of the buffer served as an input to an LED circuit, which was being operated in the forward bias condition using a regulated voltage supply of −5 V. The output of the buffer was connected to the anode of the LED through a 200 Ω resistance (made up of two 100 Ω resistors connected in series). The cathode was connected to the output of IC 7660 (voltage inverter), which provides a regulated inversion of the supply voltage. The input to the IC 7660 was +5 V. Hence, the output of the IC 7660 was −5 V. The circuit diagram of the transmitter unit is shown in Fig. 1.1.
Figure 1.1 Li-Fi transmitter unit. LED, Light emitting diode; Li-Fi, light-fidelity.
In this study, a light dependent resistor (LDR) was used as the photosensor. The photosensor is expected to sense the fluctuations in the LED output. The LDR was used to make a voltage divider circuit. One of the terminals of the LDR was directly connected to +5 V. The other terminal was connected to the ground through a 10 kΩ resistor. The output of the circuit was taken from the interjunction of the LDR and the 10 kΩ resistor. The output of the LDR circuit served as an input to the buffer circuit. This was done to avoid loading the output signal from the LDR circuit. The output of the LDR circuit served as the input to a 0.5 Hz high pass filter (HPF). This was done to eliminate the DC component of the signal. The bandwidth of the ECG signal lies in the range of 0.5–120 Hz. We intended to test our device using an ECG simulator and signals from human volunteers. Hence, the cut-off frequency of 0.5 Hz of the HPF is quite justified. The output of the HPF was provided to a low pass filter (LPF). The LPF (cut-off frequency of 120 Hz) was used to band-limit the signal. The band-limited signal was amplified using a noninverting amplifier. The noninverting amplifier was designed using a potentiometer (10 kΩ). This allowed us to provide a variable gain to the circuit. The amplifier was connected to a buffer circuit, whose output was used to display the signal either in DSO or a laptop (using a custom-designed LabVIEW program). The schematic diagram of the receiver circuit is shown in Fig. 1.2.
Figure 1.2 Li-Fi receiver unit. Li-Fi, Light-fidelity.
The circuits of the transmitter and the receiver units were designed using National Instruments (NI) Multisim and were exported to an NI Ultiboard for the printed circuit board (PCB) layout designing. The Ultiboard layout was printed on glossy paper. The PCB was developed from the layout using a carbon transfer copper etching method (Pradhan et al., 2016).
Testing the device
The transmitter and the receiver units were tested to ascertain whether the developed device was working as expected or not. For this purpose, initially, the device was supplied with a sinusoidal signal. The sinusoidal wave had a frequency of 100 Hz with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 5 V. This was given to the transmitter by connecting a probe of the function generator to that of the input port of the transmitter circuit. After ascertaining the workability of the device, a simulated ECG signal was given for testing purposes. The ECG signals were simulated using an ECG simulator program created in LabVIEW software. The simulator program was obtained from the source code version of Biomedical Toolkit for LabVIEW. The analog signals were generated from the simulator using the NI ELVIS II+ (National Instruments, United States). The analog output of the NI ELVIS II+ was used as an input for the transmitter unit. The signal from the analog output of the NI ELVIS II+ was given to the input port of the transmitter circuit. The output of the receiver unit was acquired in the DSO. The distance between the transmitter and the receiver unit was 10 cm during the course of the experiment.
After testing the circuit using the ECG simulator, an EKG sensor was used for the acquisition of the ECG signal. The electrodes of the EKG sensor were connected to the human volunteers in Lead-1 configuration. The diagrammatic depiction of the entire setup is shown in Fig. 1.3.
Figure 1.3 Diagrammatic representation of entire setup for transmission of ECG signals via light. ECG, Electrocardiogram.
The distance between the transmitter and the receiver unit was kept at 10 cm, which was selected from the study using the simulator. The device was tested on five human volunteers. The output of the receiver circuit was displayed in the DSO. For checking the correlation of the input and the output signals, the ECG signal and the extracted signals from the receiver of the circuit were acquired using NI USB 6008 (National Instruments, United States). The signals acquired were stored in the PC as LabVIEW Measurement (.lvm) files. These files were imported into Excel and the correlation between the input ECG and the ECG signal acquired from the Li-Fi receiver was obtained.
Results and discussions
Designing the device
The pictographs of the finished PCB (top view) are shown in Fig. 1.4. The PCB was developed using the circuit diagram described previously (Figs. 1.1 and 1.2).
Figure 1.4 Pictographic representation of (A) Li-Fi transmitter circuit, (B) Li-Fi receiver circuit. Li-Fi, Light-fidelity.
Testing of device
Sinusoidal response
The circuit was tested using a sinusoidal signal of known amplitude and frequency (amplitude 5 Vpp and frequency of 100 Hz). The sinusoidal input was given to the transmitter unit and the receiver was placed at a distance of 10 cm from the transmitter. The output of the LDR circuit was measured. The output of the LDR circuit and the output of the buffer circuit were the same. Subsequently, the signal was passed through a passive band pass filter, made of a passive HPF of cut-off frequency 0.5 Hz and a passive LPF of cut-off frequency 120 Hz. Thereafter, the gain of the noninverting amplifier was set such that output of the receiver unit was equal to the original input electrical signal (served as an input to the transmitter unit). The output of the noninverting amplifier was used as input for the buffer circuit. The input and the output signals of the buffer circuit were the same. The output of the buffer circuit was connected to a display device (DSO). The tuning of the receiver circuit was made such that there was no loss in the input signal amplitude (generated from the function generator). Interestingly, a delay in the input signal (generated from the function generator) and the output of the receiver unit was observed.
The original input signal and the output from the Li-Fi receiver are shown in Fig. 1.5. Yellow is the signal at probe 1 and blue is the signal at probe 2. The offset removal filter (HPF of cut off 0.5 Hz) enabled the signal to always have an offset of zero. If the light was suddenly switched on or off, the signal shifted and came back to its original offset (zero offset) in less than a second.
Figure 1.5 (A) Input and output electrical signal of Li-Fi transmitter and receiver, respectively, and (B) The Fourier transform of the output wave. Li-Fi, Light-fidelity.
The result shows that the system was able to transmit the sinusoidal signal through light. When the oscilloscope probe was attached at the anode and the cathode of the LED, the resulting figures suggested the occurrence of the pulse amplitude modulation of the input signal (Fig. 1.6A–D).
Figure 1.6 (A) Voltage response at LED anode (2.5 ms/Div), (B) voltage response at LED anode (500 µs/Div) (C) waveform response at LED cathode (10 ms/Div), (D) waveform response at LED cathode (1 ms/Div). LED, Light emitting diode.
The response at the cathode and anode were similar; the only difference was that the cathode’s response had an offset of −5 V.
Electrocardiogram simulator response
The testing of the device, to analyze the suitability of the device for transferring biomedical signals, was carried out using an ECG signal simulator. The input to the transmitter section and the output of the receiver section were acquired and analyzed using a DSO. It was observed that both the signals were similar in nature. Hence, the results suggested that the device is capable of transmitting biomedical signals. Thereafter, further testing was done using the EKG sensor.
EKG sensor response
The EKG machine was acquiring the data in the Lead-1 configuration. The picture of the entire setup is shown in Fig. 1.7.
Figure 1.7 (A) Pictograph of the entire setup, (B) Volunteer’s ECG being transmitted through Li-Fi. ECG, Electrocardiogram; Li-Fi, light-fidelity.
Visual analysis of the signal indicated that the ECG signals from the volunteers could be transmitted using our in-house–developed Li-Fi device. The readings were taken on two conditions: lights on and lights off. The results of the DSO are shown in Fig. 1.8. The signal was quite normal in the lights off condition. The moment the lights were switched on, a noise of 100 Hz was visible in the output signal. This was properly visible in the frequency plot of the output signal. It could be speculated that the tube light produced a thickening of light at 100 Hz.
Figure 1.8 ECG and frequency spectra of the transmitted signals during different lighting conditions. (A) Original (yellow colored) and transmitted (blue colored) ECG signals during light-on condition, (B) Frequency spectrum of the transmitted ECG signal during light-on condition, (C) Original (yellow colored) and transmitted (blue colored) ECG signals during light-off condition, and (D) Frequency spectrum of the transmitted ECG signal during light-off condition.
The correlation between the input and the output signal was found to be 0.961 in the lights off condition and 0.956 in the lights on condition.
Conclusion
Various authors have reported that EM interference may play a crucial role in lowering the accuracy and the reliability of the RF communication-based wireless transmission of biomedical signals. Further, it has been found that the RF signals not only have a harmful effect on human beings but they also can interfere with the proper functioning of hospital equipment (Morrissey, Swicord, & Balzano, 2002). Due to this reason, though the RF-based wireless transmission system has found many applications in the healthcare system, researchers are trying to find an alternative to these RF-based wireless transmission systems. In this regard, Li-Fi (synonymously used with VLC) can be explored to either eliminate or minimize the disadvantages of RF-based wireless transmission systems for healthcare applications. Li-Fi usually uses LEDs, which have become an essential component of current lighting systems. These systems have been proposed for reliable and efficient transmission of signals. In this study, a Li-Fi-based wireless biomedical signal transmission system was developed. The developed system was able to wirelessly transmit the signal using the LED. This study uses analog intensity modulation of light to transmit the signal. It can be used for the purpose of isolation of medical devices. But the analog intensity modulation cannot send multichannel signals. A CSK modulation system can be used for transmitting multichannel signals (Dhatchayeny et al., 2015). Otherwise, the signals will have to be digitized and coded such that the receiver can understand the difference between the two signals. For this purpose, on-off keying and non-return to zero modulation can be used for the conversion of the signal into light signal (Le Minh et al., 2009).
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2
Development of a low-cost color sensor for biomedical applications
Pratyush K. Patnaik, Paresh Mahapatra, Dibyajyoti Biswal, Suraj K. Nayak, Sachin Kumar, Biswajeet Champaty and Kunal Pal, Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, India
Abstract
The present study proposes the development of a low-cost and user-friendly color sensor. The device was based on hardware-software integration to detect the color of the objects. The sensor used red, green, and blue (RGB) light emitting diodes as the light sources, which were used to sequentially illuminate the test objects. The reflected light from the test objects was detected by a light dependent resistor, interfaced with the analog input terminal of an Arduino UNO microcontroller. The analog voltage values were digitized and serially transmitted to a graphical user interface (GUI), designed in MATLAB. The digitized voltage values were used to obtain the color information of the test objects (i.e., RGB values) through linear mapping and contrast stretching algorithms. The RGB model was converted into CMY (cyan, magenta, yellow) and HSI (hue, saturation, intensity) models using mathematical operations. The GUI was used to control the microcontroller and display the different color model values and the perceived color of the test object in the display panel. The proposed color sensor can be highly useful for the food and medical industries.
Keywords
Color sensor; LED; LDR; Arduino; MATLAB
Introduction
Humans are capable of distinguishing various colors through learning (Russ, 2016), but it is a limited and subjective phenomenon (humans fail to discriminate the minor changes in the colors). The minor change in the color of an object can have a substantial effect in various industries. For example, in the field of food technology, color change affects the quality of the food materials (Garber, Hyatt, & Nafees, 2016; Madzharov, Ramanathan, & Block, 2016; Spence, 2015), and in the medical industry, the manufacturing of dental prostheses requires proper determination of its matching color with the natural teeth (Delawter, Wagner, Emerson, & Franklin, 2003). Over the last few decades, color sensors grew in popularity for their efficiency and accuracy (Chen et al., 2016; Seol et al., 2018). This is because they provide the easiest way of determining the color of an object, thereby helping in determining its quality (Kwon & Park, 2017; Seol et al., 2018). Advancements in the field of electronics and automation have empowered engineers to design equipment for automatic color detection (König & Thongpull, 2015). However, these equipment are very expensive and are primarily meant for large-scale industries (Anzalone, Glover, & Pearce, 2013). The main limitations of the commercialized color sensors are their cost (Johari, 2015), object specifics (Seelye, Gupta, Bailey, & Seelye, 2011), complex architecture and algorithm (Saracoglu & Altural, 2010), and bulkiness (Oestreich, Tolley, & Rice, 1995). Hence, taking into account these limitations of existing color sensors, a low-cost, light-weight, simple, and user-friendly color sensor has been proposed. The main contribution of our group in this study was to develop a MATLAB-based user-friendly software interface and improvement in the hardware module proposed by Ivon (2018). The hardware-software integration was done successfully, and the complete device was used to identify the color of different colorful objects.
Literature review
Color can be regarded as the perceptual sensation of visible light spectrum incident on the human eye (Dougherty, 2009; Gregory, 2015). Color comes into existence when a viewer, an object, and light are present. Hence, the color of an object is dependent on three factors, namely, the spectral reflectance from the surface of the object, the spectral content of ambient illumination, and the spectral response of the sensors present in the imaging system (Puiu, 2012). The light, which gets reflected from the surface of the object, enters the human eye. The cone cells, present in the rear end of the eye, convert the light signal into an electrical signal, which is transmitted to the brain for its interpretation, and where the color perception takes place (Volpe, 2004). The way color processing takes place in the human brain has not been completely revealed yet. However, the formal description and the modeling of the physical nature of color can be performed. Thousands of color shades and intensities can be perceived by humans in comparison to only approximately 24 shades of gray (Gunasekaran, 1996).
Color models
A color is represented using a color space/color model. The color model can be defined as the subspace within a 3D space, where each point represents a color. It helps to specify, generate, and visualize colors. Different color models are used in different industries. The common color models are RGB (red, green, and blue), CMY (cyan, magenta, and yellow), HSL (hue, saturation, and lightness), and YIQ (yellow, in-phase, and quadrature) (Gonzalez, 2016; Plataniotis & Venetsanopoulos, 2013):
1. RGB color model: The RGB color model is the most commonly used color model for hardware-related applications like monitors, cameras, and graphics boards. This may be attributed to the fact that the human eye obtains color information as the combination of RGB components, as perceived by the cone cells (Gonzalez, 2016). The RGB color model can be represented as a cube of unit length in the Cartesian coordinate system, having RGB at the corners of the three axes (Fig. 2.1).
2. CMY color model: The CMY color model is a subtractive color model based on the primary colors: RGB. The basis color in this model are CMY (Pitas, 2000). In this model, a color is produced by subtracting the primary colors from white light. The CMY model is complementary of the RGB model. It is widely used for color printing and photography.
3. HSL color model: The HSL color model represents a color through the attributes hue, saturation, and luminance, which are easily realized by humans. Hue provides information about the dominant wavelength of the color, whereas saturation indicates the relative purity of a color (Burger & Burge, 2016). Luminance represents the power or amplitude of light. This model is considered ideal for the development of image-processing algorithms.
4. YIQ color model: The YIQ color model represents a color in terms of luminance/brightness (Y) and hue/chrominance (I and Q) (Sinecen, 2016). This model is defined by the National Television System Committee (NTSC) and is used for color TV broadcasting. It is derived as a linear transformation of the RGB color model and provides better transmission efficiency and preserves compatibility with monochrome television standards.
Figure 2.1 RGB cube. RGB, Red, green, and blue.
Application of colorimeter in the medical industry
Color is an important characteristic of light (Gunasekaran, 1996). Often, this fact is taken for granted and its importance is not properly understood by the general public (Puiu, 2012). The color information of the objects is used for various applications like inspection, identification, and sorting of desired components in various industries (e.g., pharmaceutical, and medical industries). The color of pharmaceutical and medical products may considerably affect its acceptance among the customers. The color change of pharmaceutical and medical products (e.g., suspensions and dental implants) can be monitored to judge its quality and suitability for use. Colorimeters are used to obtain the color information of an object. A colorimeter is a simple device comprising a light source, sample holder, and photodetector. It also involves a mechanism for the regulation of the light source and integration of the transmitted light (Anzalone et al., 2013). The high cost of the commercial colorimeters usually limits its usage by the less-funded researchers and the common people. Hence, the last few decades have witnessed many attempts by researchers of the development of cost-effective colorimeters.
Color measurement of dental prosthesis
The color of dental prostheses is usually determined by comparing the color of a number of prosthetic samples with the color of the patient’s teeth through visual observation. Several factors affect the optimal color matching of the prosthetics in such situations like the visual ability of the person making the comparison, availability of a small number of samples, and the lighting condition. Delawter et al. (2003) invented a colorimeter for accurately measuring the color and reflectance of a tooth and its best possible matching with a dental prosthesis (Delawter et al., 2003). The device was composed of a handheld probe, comparable to the size of a dental drill, which was connected through an electrical cable to a self-reliant display unit. The probe consisted of several light emitting diodes (LEDs) that illuminate the surface of the object, a series of linear photo sensors to detect the light reflected from the object, and a lens to direct the reflected light to the photo sensors. The display unit was composed of a microprocessor that facilitated the operator with a control, display, and data interface. The proposed colorimeter was used for the color measurement of teeth and to prepare dental prostheses that closely matched the color of the natural teeth. The proper shade selection of dental porcelain restorations still remains an overwhelming task for novice dental professionals. Klemetti, Matela, Haag, and Kononen (2006) examined the variation in color shade selection of dental porcelain restorations performed by novice dental professionals and a digital colorimeter (Klemetti et al., 2006). Nineteen trainee dental professionals performed color shade selection using three commonly used shade guides (Vita Lumin Vacuum, Vita 3D-Master, and Procera). The repeatability was found to be low (30%–43%) for all the color shades and did not vary significantly among the three shade guides. The comparison of their outcomes with the results of a digital colorimeter exhibited very low agreement (8%–34%). Thus, the authors suggested that the visual shade selection exhibits interobserver variation, and a colorimeter may be used as an efficient tool for the standardization of the shade selection procedure. Li and Wang (2007) compared the suitability of visual and intraoral colorimeter-based shade matching approaches for the proper color matching of dental prostheses with natural teeth (Li & Wang, 2007). The authors evaluated the performance of the two approaches by preparing metal ceramic crowns for the maxillary left central incisors of 20 volunteers. For both approaches, the color differences between the tooth and the prepared metal ceramic crowns were found to be in the clinically unacceptable range. Nevertheless, the colorimetry-based shade-matching approach provided better results in comparison to the visual approach for the easy matching cases. Karaagaclioglu, Terzioglu, Yilmaz, and Yurdukoru (2010) reported the color measuring performance evaluation of an intraoral dental colorimeter (ShadeEye NCC) during both in vitro and in vivo conditions in comparison to a more recognized colorimeter (Minolta CR-321) (Karaagaclioglu et al., 2010). The color measurement of right maxillary central incisor of 30 volunteers was performed in vivo. It was observed from the in vivo experiment that the intraoral dental colorimeter exhibited very good repeatability. For all specimens, the color difference between the two colorimeters was found to be within the clinically acceptable range and the performance of the intraoral colorimeter was dependent on the translucency of the specimens.
Intracoronal bleaching is a treatment procedure for discolored teeth. Martin-Biedma et al. (2010) reported use of colorimeter for in vitro measurement of tooth color before and after subjecting the tooth to internal bleaching (Martin-Biedma et al., 2010). In this study, nine human lower molar teeth were used. Each tooth was fragmented into two halves, in which one fragment was used as a test sample and the other was considered the control sample. The test samples were subjected to bleaching by adding sodium perborate. The bleaching agent was changed after every 7 days. The color measurement of both the control and the test samples was performed after 1 month using a colorimeter, and their internal structure was observed using field emission scanning emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The colors of the control and the test samples were found to vary significantly. However, no changes were observed in the internal enamel and dentin surfaces of the test samples even after internal bleaching.
Wan, An, and Wang (2015) reported the development of a colorimetry-based color-monitoring device, which can be used to perform more accurate measurement of teeth color for dental cosmetic applications (Wan et al., 2015). The device used LEDs as the light source. A microcontroller and a programmable color sensor were employed to collect the color signal. The performance of the proposed device was compared with the international standard color card. Based on the results, Wan et al. suggested that the device provides numerous advantages like high measuring accuracy, good stability, and low power consumption.
Blood glucose level measurement
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease that results in high blood glucose levels. It may lead to severe complications like kidney damage, blindness, and coronary artery disease if the blood glucose level is not monitored regularly. As per the Global Report on Diabetes (GRD), there were 422 million DM cases worldwide in 2014 (Roglic, 2016). Although the commonly used methods of blood glucose level detection are cost effective, they involve pain and invasive blood sample collection. Hence, research on the development of noninvasive methods of blood glucose level detection has received special attention in recent years. The use of body fluids having glucose content like urine, sweat, tears, and saliva has been proposed instead of blood samples for the noninvasive monitoring of DM. Among the body fluids, saliva has received much attention due to the latent correlation between salivary glucose and blood glucose. Jia et al. (2015) proposed the determination of glucose concentration from urine samples for the diagnosis of diabetes by calibrating the cellphone camera-based images of a colorimetric sensor array (Jia et al., 2015). The images of a colorimetric sensor array were captured using different brands of cellphones at different lighting conditions and distances. The calibration of the images could be performed using a simple calibration method. The performance of the proposed system was checked by determining the glucose concentration in urine. The proposed system could successfully distinguish the urine samples of different glucose concentration using a hierarchical cluster analysis, suggesting its application as a point-of-care diagnostic device. Konnaiyan, Cheemalapati, Pyayt, and Gubanov (2016) reported the development of a smartphone-based colorimeter for measuring glucose and the protein concentration of biological samples (Konnaiyan et al., 2016). The device involves a mobile phone application with powerful image-processing capability and a 3D printed sample holder. The device facilitated the controlling of lighting conditions and exhibited excellent sensitivity. The classification of protein and glucose-based strip pads of different concentrations could be performed successfully using the proposed device. The results suggested that the device can be a potential alternative for commercial dipstick analyzers. Dominguez et al. (2017) developed a low-cost colorimeter for detecting glucose in salivary samples, which can help in DM monitoring. The processing of the salivary samples was done using glucose oxidase-peroxidase enzymatic system. The proposed system used an LED (wavelength=532.5 nm) as the light source and an RGB sensor module as the receiver. The capability of the proposed device in precisely discriminating the salivary samples of normal and DM cases was tested on 41 volunteers, and the average glucose concentrations of 1.5519±0.4511 and 4.0479±1.6103 mg/dL were obtained, respectively, for the normal and the DM cases. Hence, the device could make the discrimination between the two groups. The validation of the results with an ultraviolet-vis-spectrophotometer provided a correlation (R²) of 0.98194. Based on the results, the authors suggested that the proposed device can be used to facilitate sensitive detection of body analytes in a cost-effective and user-friendly manner.
These facts from the previously reported literature suggested the need and the recent progress for the development of new colorimetry-based tools that can help in monitoring the detection of human body analytes for disease diagnosis in a noninvasive manner and dental prosthetics development. The current study proposes the development of a colorimetry-based color sensor and testing its suitability to detect different colors. The device can be used for various biomedical applications.
Materials
A 12-mm light dependent resistor (LDR) (Robomart, India), LEDs (Robomart, India), resistors (Fairchild, United States), Arduino UNO (Arduino, Italy), NI Multisim and Ultiboard (National Instruments, United States), and MATLAB (R2014a, MathWorks Inc., United States) were used in this study.
Methods
Designing the color sensor
The color sensor design was achieved using a photoresistor (LDR). RGB LEDs were used to generate lights of RGB colors, respectively. The generated lights were sequentially made incident on the object. The reflected light from the object was then incident on the LDR. The circuit diagram of the developed color sensor is given in Fig. 2.2.
Figure 2.2 Circuit diagram of color sensor.
The LEDs were arranged around the LDR, 120 degrees apart and equidistant from the LDR. The switching of the LEDs was controlled by an Arduino UNO microcontroller. One end of the LDR was connected to the 5-V pin of the microcontroller board, and the other end was connected to a 10-kΩ resistor. The free end of the 10-kΩ resistor was attached to the ground terminal of the microcontroller, forming a voltage divider circuit. The voltage at the junction between the LDR and the resistor was given to the analog input pin (A0) of the Arduino UNO microcontroller. Hence, any change in the resistance of the LDR, due to the incidence of the reflected light from an object, was measured in the form of a change in the analog voltage. The magnitude of the voltage was directly proportional to the intensity of the light incident on the LDR. The inbuilt analog-to-digital converter (ADC) of the Arduino UNO microcontroller converted the analog voltage values (0–5 V) to the digital values (0–1023). These digital values were processed in MATLAB to obtain the RGB values of the test object.
Designing the graphical user interface
A graphical user interface (GUI), named COLOR SENSOR PANEL, was designed in MATLAB to detect the color of the objects. The GUI consisted of five digital push-buttons: Start, Reset, Calibrate Black, Calibrate White, and Test. The Start and the Reset push-buttons were grouped together and were used for starting and resetting the device (Fig. 2.3). The Calibrate Black and the Calibrate White push-buttons were grouped together under the CALIBRATION PANEL. During the calibration, the Calibrate Black push-button was used to acquire the digitized data from the standard black object, whereas the Calibrate White digital push-button was used to acquire the data from the standard white object. The Test push-button was used for acquiring the digitized data of the test object. All three push-buttons (i.e., Calibrate Black, Calibrate White, and Test) were programmed to map the acquired digitized values (0–1023) back to analog values (0–5 V) and finally, to the respective RGB values (0–255). After the mathematical operations performed by MATLAB were over, the GUI showed the color model values for the test object and displayed the perceived color.
Figure 2.3 GUI of the developed color sensor. GUI, Graphical user interface.
Color sensor calibration
The color sensor was calibrated by a dual stage mapping process. The process consisted of mapping analog voltage values to corresponding digital values and converting those digital values into RGB values. The color sensor produced analog output voltage with respect to the intensity of the reflected light from the test object. The output was dependent on the color of the test object and intensity of the RGB light reflected back from it. These analog values were digitized by the Arduino UNO microcontroller and sent to the computer.
The sensor was calibrated using black and white objects to obtain the lower and the upper limits of the voltage generated for each of the LEDs. The voltage values for the black object were stored in a variable b.
The voltage values for the white object were stored in a variable w.
Similarly, the voltage values for the test sample were stored in the variable t.
These variables were used in a contrast stretching algorithm, which allowed the conversion of these analog voltage values to R, G, and B values. The formula of contrast stretching is been given in Eq. (2.1).
(2.1)
where
smax = maximum output gray level = 255 (for a 8-bit image)
smin = minimum output gray level = 0 (for a 8-bit image)
rmax = maximum input voltage = calibration voltage of white object = w
rmin = minimum input voltage = calibration voltage of black object = b
c = voltage values for test object = t
S = R (or G or B) value for test object
The sequence of events occurring in the color sensor is given in the form of a flowchart in Fig. 2.4.
Figure 2.4 Flowchart for explaining the working of the color sensor.
The LEDs were sequentially made ON for 100 ms (Fig. 2.5). The sequence of triggering of the LEDs was red LED, green LED, and blue LED, respectively. The light from the LEDs was incident on the test object, and the light reflected back from the test object was allowed to fall on the LDR. As per the intensity of the incident light, an analog voltage output was obtained across the LDR, which was read and digitized by Arduino UNO. The digitized output of Arduino UNO was given as input to MATLAB. The GUI stored these values as elements of the variables array. The voltage response, when the Red LED was switched ON, was stored as the first element of the array, the voltage response for the Blue LED was stored as the second element of the array, and the voltage response for the Green LED was stored as the third element of the array.
Figure 2.5 Different stages of LED operation. LED, Light emitting diodes.
These values were used to determine the RGB values of the test sample through mapping using contrast stretching. After the RGB values were found in the range of 0–255, the corresponding CMY and HSI model values were calculated using the mathematical operations given in Eqs. (2.2)–(2.4) and (2.5)–(2.8), respectively. In the HSI model, the value of H lies in the range of [0°, 360°], S lies in the range of [0, 1] and I lies in the range of [0, 1].
(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.4)
(2.5)
(2.6)
(2.7)
(2.8)
Results and discussion
Development of the color sensor
At the initial stage, the color sensor circuit was implemented on the breadboard for testing. After successful testing, a printed circuit board (PCB) layout was designed for the proposed color sensor using an NI Ultiboard (V13.0, National Instruments, United States). The layout was transferred to a copper-clad board by placing a hot electric iron over it, and the exposed copper was removed by etching with ferric chloride (FeCl3) solution as per the carbon transfer copper etching method (Nayak et al., 2015). Holes were drilled and soldering of the components was done on the PCB. To avoid the surrounding light effects, a black-colored cylindrical arrangement was made around the LDR and the LEDs. This arrangement minimized the interference from the surrounding light and maximized the incidence of the reflected light on the LDR. Finally, the PCB was instilled onto an Arduino UNO microcontroller (Fig. 2.6).
Figure 2.6 PCB of the color sensor module. PCB, Printed circuit board.
The proposed color sensor required the calibration for each measurement. Hence, to avoid the repeated calibration process and to enhance the sophisticated use of the device, a MATLAB-based GUI was designed as mentioned earlier. The GUI enabled the use of the previously calibrated values as long as the device was powered. It also facilitated the implementation of the contrast stretching algorithm.
Testing of color sensor
The functionality of the proposed color sensor was tested by detecting the color of different colored paper pieces (representative objects) (Table 2.1). The pictures of the paper pieces were taken using a smartphone camera apart from detecting the colors of the objects through the proposed device. The developed color sensor was able to produce the relevant monochromatic colors for the objects and the corresponding RGB, CMY, and HSI color model values in each case, which has been given in Table 2.1. The slight variation in the color of the image of the object and its detected color may be attributed to the lighting condition and the camera quality during the image acquisition
Table 2.1
Conclusion
The current study deals with the development of a low-cost color sensor through software-hardware interfacing. The color sensor consisted of an LDR and three LEDs (RGB). The color sensor module was interfaced with an Arduino UNO microcontroller. The reflected light from the object was incident on the LDR. Based on the intensity of the incident light, the LDR produced analog voltage readings. The analog values were digitized by Arduino Uno, interfaced with the color sensor module. The digitized output from the microcontroller was conveyed to the GUI through serial communication. The digitized readings were processed through the linear mapping and contrast stretching algorithms to produce the corresponding RGB values. The use of GUI reduced the repeated calibration of the color sensor and made the device user-friendly. The developed color sensor is user-friendly and reliable and can be used for applications ranging from the medical industry to the food industry. The device can be made portable and more user-friendly by introducing a mobile software application to monitor the color of the objects.
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