Brain Computer Communication (BCC) – Asynchronous/Synchronous Applications

by Leow Ruen Shan
Semester 2, 2004/2005A

brain computer interface (BCI) system can be used by severely disabled people to communicate or to control devices. The main purpose of this project is to incorporate Bluetooth wireless technology into an existing UM-BCI system to enable wireless serial communication between the data acquisition system and the computer. It also allows the computer to send control commands to two remote Bluetooth devices (prosthetic hand and LEDs). A graphic user interface is designed to test the BCI system to control a prosthetic hand that can perform four types of actions, and also to control other devices such as switching on/off LEDs. The results showed that the Bluetooth wireless modification to the UM-BCI system functioned satisfactorily. Supervisor: Goh Sing Yau

Development Of A Lie Detector

by Chin Chuan ChenSemester 2, 2004/2005

Attempt to detect P300 is carried out using visual stimulus made of two capital alphabets. Four subjects (two males and two females) aged 21 to 25 are involved in the experiment, designed in an oddball paradigm comprising of Targets (‘X’) and Irrelevants (‘O’). Targets are prompted at a probability of 0.2.
Fz, Cz, Pz and Oz montages are used to obtain EEG signals. ECG, throat EMG and EOG signals are collected in the experiment to monitor artifacts. EEG data contaminated with eye artifacts are removed through visual inspection. Data are extracted one second before to one second after the response tag. These are filtered digitally with an IIR lowpass filter, at 3.5 Hz cutt-off frequency. Filtered data are separated into a matrix of Targets and a matrix of Irrelevants for separate signal processing.
The P300 detection program uses the filtered and baseline corrected input signal to detect the presence of P300 based on its amplitude and length of the P300 complex. The total classification rate of the program is 66.6%.

Supervisor: Ng Siew Cheok

A Study Of Body Composition Changes Before And After Performing Muslim Prayer In Male Subjects

by Abdul Rahim Abdul RazakSemester 2, 2004/2005This thesis presents the study of body composition changes in male Muslims before and after performing salat zuhur in congregation. The measurement used single frequency and multifrequency bioelectrical impedance method to measure the human body composition..The alternating current value less 1 mA with single frequency at 50 kHz and multifrequency range from 5 – 1000 kHz are applied through the human body for body composition measurement.
47 male subjects’ age ranges from 19 - 47 years volunteered participate in this study. All statistical data analysis is performed with SPPS version 12 and Microsoft Office Excel version 2003. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is applied to the data to identify the significant value between the groups of data before and after prayer with the six conditions is salat which is number of takbeer in salat, condition of rukuk, condition of toe, place of salat zuhur, time of salat zuhur and level of understanding meaning of reading in salat zuhur.
The result shows that the phase angle, body cell mass and intracellular water are significant parameters to analyze (p < 0.05) with the six condition in salat zuhur and these three parameters are correlated each other. The Cole – Cole plot and Phase Angle versus Frequency graph also give a significant evaluation. The result shows an increment of phase angle, body cell mass and intracellular water in single frequency bioelectrical impedance analysis. For the multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis, the Cole – Cole plot will translate to the right and upward of the graph area and the phase angle value increase with the increasing of the frequency.
From the data measurement analysis, there are 6 condition must be perform by the Muslims to achieve the best result and performance in salat zuhur. The person must do as following: Do all 4 takbeer in every rakaat of salat zuhur; Bend straight at 90° during rukuk position; Erect the right toe during sajdah, sit between sajdah, first tashahhud and final tashahhud; Achieve an excellent level of understanding meaning of reading in salat; Establish salat zuhur in congregation at mosque; Establish salat zuhur in time duration equal to 7 minutes
Supervisor: Fatimah Ibrahim

A Study Of Body Composition Changes Before And After Performing Muslim Prayer In Female Subjects

by Robiyanti AdollahSemester 2, 2004/2005This thesis presents the study of body composition changes in female Muslim before and after performing Zuhur prayer. There is a total sample of 28 female subjects that volunteered participated in this study. The age is in between 18 to 35 years old. The mean of age in this group study is 21.4 ± 3.474.
There are two types of bioimpedance method used in this study; single frequency and multiple-frequency measurements. This is in vivo technique where a constant current of less than 1 mA at a single frequency of 50 KHz (BIA Model 450) and Multiple frequencies at range 5 to 1000 KHz (Xitrons Hydra ECF/ICF Model 4200) is applied through the human body to measure the body composition.
All statistical analysis is performed by SPPS version 10. There are two main results analysis; single frequency and multiple-frequency. Test of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) are applied to the data to identify the significant value between the groups of data before and after prayer.
In single frequency, Analysis of Variance shows that the changes in body composition before and after prayer are not significant (the p value is greater than 0.05) and this is indicates that there is no significant difference between body compositions before prayer and after performs the prayer. In single frequency, the group of missed prayer and no missed prayer in a week were evaluated using ANOVA. Two components of body composition show the significant value (p< 0.05) and the two component of the body composition that shows the significant value is fat mass and body lean mass. This results indicate that the fat mass and body lean mass may were influenced by the activity of prayer that the subjects perform daily or weekly. Other components do not show the significant value in the analysis.
For the multi-frequency, the graphs of Resistance versus frequency, Impedance versus frequency, phase angle versus frequency and cole-cole plot (reactance versus resistance) are plotted to shows the changes of body composition with the increasing of the frequency.

Biomedical Engineering Program at University of Malaya(UnderGradute)

Biomedical Engineering Program at University of Malaya

This programme is the first academic programme in Malaysia offering undergraduate and post-graduate courses in biomedical engineering. It started at the beginning of the 1997/98 with an intake of 21 undergraduates.

Undergraduate Program Structure

The undergraduate curriculum concretizes basic knowledge in the different areas of Biomedical Engineering into a four-year programme, stressing on mathematics, computer, mechanics, and electronics. It takes the following structure:
First Year = Initial level
Second Year = Intermediate Level 1
Third Year = Intermediate Level 2
Fourth Year = Final Year

Objectives and Aims

The objectives of introducing the Biomedical Engineering programme are as follows:
To upgrade the engineering expertise in order to meet current demands in the medical field
To produce professionals in the field of biomedical engineering
To offer a course in Biomedical Engineering at the undergraduate level
This programme educates the students with strong selected knowledge in the fields of biology and medicine, and an appropriate combination of knowledge in mechanical and electrical engineering, in particular applied mechanics and electronics. It trains the students so that they attain the qualification and competency to carry out the following activities:
To design, monitor, install, maintain and service medical and laboratory equipment
To carry out analysis and research in order to give advice and provide consulting services pertaining to engineering-related medical problems
To work hand-in-hand with medical experts on specific patient treatments

Admission Requirement

Applications are open to all STPM/ Matriculation/ A levels students. Besides fulfilling the University's general requirements, the students must pass with:
Minimum of Grade B (CGPA 3.0) in Mathematics and Physics, or
Minimum of Grade B (CGPA 3.0) in Mathematics
Minimum of Grade A- (CGPA 3.7) in Biology and Chemistry, and
Minimum of Grade A2 in SPM Physics.
Preference will be given to applicants who studied Biology at the post-SPM level. Equivalent qualifications are also considered.

Degree Awarded

Students who meet all the course requirements from the Initial Level to the Final Level will be awarded the Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (BBEng) degree.

Professional Recognition

Application is being made to the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC), Malaysia for the degree to be recognized as a qualification to attain the status of graduate engineers.

Career Opportunities

Graduates are expected to be able to gain employment as engineers in the public and private sectors, which include hospitals, research and medical centres, and companies providing engineering services to hospitals. They can also be employed to handle jobs in other related engineering areas.

Professional certification

See also: Professional engineer
Engineers typically require a type of professional certification, such as satisfying certain education requirements and passing an examination to become a professional engineer. These certifications are usually nationally regulated and registered, but there are also cases of self-governing bodies, such as the Canadian Association of Professional Engineers. In many cases, carrying the title of "Professional Engineer" is legally protected.
BME is an emerging field, and professional certifications are not as standard and uniform as they are for other engineering fields. For example, the Fundamentals of Engineering exam in the U.S. does not include a biomedical engineering section, though it does cover biology. Biomedical engineers often simply possess a university degree as their qualification. Biomedical engineering is regulated in some countries, such as Australia, but registration is typically only recommended and not required.[10]
In the UK, mechanical engineers working in the areas of Medical Engineering, Bioengineering or Biomedical engineering can gain Chartered Engineering status through the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The intuition also runs the Medical Engineering Division[11].

Higher Education In Malaysia

In Malaysia have 4 Univerisity provide training in Biomedical Engineering Courses such as University Malaya,Universiti Malaysia Perlis,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia & Universiti Tun Hussien On.Every Unversiti provide program from Bachelor to PHD in Malaysia.