Customer SolutionsIntegrating Biomedical Data Acquisition Systems with NI LabVIEW and Data Acquisition
Author(s):Guy Drew, U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research; Ken Weber, U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
Industry:Government/Defense, Medical/ Medical Instrumentation
Product:Data Acquisition, LabVIEW
The Challenge:Standardizing biomedical data acquisition at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research in support of combat casualty care, burn research, and trauma.
The Solution:Configuring a data acquisition station for the collection, management, control, and storage of digital, analog, and multimedia data with National Instruments LabVIEW software and data acquisition hardware.
Working in research labs around the country and being involved in numerous biomedical research projects, we have witnessed varying approaches to acquiring data from experimental processes. Developing an experiment or research protocol typically involves engineers and programmers collaborating to determine requirements and using specific instrumentation software to meet those requirements. The instrumentation software application normally consists of data acquisition, instrument communications, and perhaps real-time analysis. In some cases, feedback control to other devices – specific to the device or instrument being used in that particular experiment – is involved. The same process must be replicated for each new requirements package and for each new protocol. Meeting Data Acquisition Requirements with a Dynamic Research Evaluation Workstation We were interested in developing a standard biomedical data acquisition system that could provide the repeated requirements of these protocols (for example, physiological waveform acquisition and medical device communications). We also required flexibility to support the unique parameters of a given protocol, including the ability to work with multiple instruments and devices. Based on past developmental experience and work with subject-matter experts, we developed an extensive list of standard parameters and specifications. The Dynamic Research Evaluation Workstation (DREW) software package was the result of our efforts. DREW provides time-synchronized, multimedia biomedical data acquisition, and now meets almost 90 percent of our research requirements. DREW is highly flexible and offers features and options to define and set up each experimental environment and process. With the software setup, a user can configure a series of menus to establish specific data monitoring, acquisition, and control parameters. Personnel in the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research operating rooms and intensive care units share these systems, and all of our physicians and laboratory research investigators have chosen DREW as their standard acquisition system. Using NI Software and Hardware to Create DREW DREW is a modular biomedical interface engine that acquires data from up to 16 serial devices and 16 analog channels. The physical data acquisition station is configured with a high-end, single-computer system using industry-standard data acquisition hardware from National Instruments. We control the collection, management, and storage of digital, analog, and multimedia data using customized LabVIEW software. We store data retrieval from instrumentation in a time-synchronized fashion, and we can remotely monitor this retrieval in real time over a wired or wireless network. The smooth, transparent ability of LabVIEW to communicate with NI hardware using NI-DAQ driver software, Virtual Instrument Software Architecture (VISA), and TCP/IP greatly reduces the complexity of the software development as well as the time required to deploy the applications. The hardware components consist of an NI PCI-MIO-16XE-10 multifunction DAQ board, PCI-232/16 serial interface board, and a BNC-2090 adapter. Two unique features in this package help users meet the other 10 percent of the requirements. The first feature is the dynamic way that users can add new device drivers, with the software package loaded as an internal server. If a given protocol requires a new medical device, the user writes a driver and adds it to the list of devices in the main package. Second, all information, including waveforms, numeric data, and subject data recorded by the software, is available in real time through TCP/IP networking protocols. A user can conduct a unique real-time analysis on a given set of parameters by obtaining the parameters through a network connection. If users need feedback control to an instrument, they can obtain the control parameters just as easily. A small application can interface with the main acquisition program, eliminating the need to write acquisition software and providing the necessary flexibility required for medical research. Saving Time with NI LabVIEW and Data Acquisition NI products are a critical part of this application. The combination of NI LabVIEW software and NI data acquisition hardware provides us with a complete package ideal for this type of application. The greatest advantage with this application is the amount of time saved. We are saving hundreds of development hours each year while providing flexibility and capabilities not previously possible. For more information, contact: Guy Drew Biomedical Systems Programmer U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research 3400 Rawley E. Chambers Tel: (210) 916-4247 Fax: (210) 916-2337 E-mail: guy.drew@cen.amedd.army.mil
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