BIOMEDICAL TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT LABORATORIES

Biomedical Technology department at King Saud University provides six laboratories for the practical part of courses offered by BMTD. They are as follows:

• Biomedical Instrumentation Lab: covers the following experiments: fluid mechanics, fluid pressure and its measurements, hydraulic pumps, applications of continuity and Bernoulli's equations to measuring devices, thermodynamics and heat transfer, origins of biopotentials, genesis of different biopotentials and their parameters, bioelectrodes, bioelectric amplifiers and signal processing and biomedical equipment.
• Digital Electronics and Microprocessor Lab: covers the following experiments: Basic hand tools, common electronic components, circuit construction and testing, cathode ray oscilloscope. Use of test equipment, component replacement, architecture of microprocessors, architecture of a specific 16-bit processor, assembly language programming, memory and I/O interfacing, biomedical applications, circuit analysis and simulation using Arcade Pspice Simulation and PCB design using Orcade Layout plus.
• Electronics Basics Lab: covers the following experiments: basic circuit theorems, nodal and mesh analysis, RLC circuits, natural and steady state response, AC circuits, resonance, solid state electronics, diodes, bipolar and FET transistor as amplifiers, measurements skills (Oscilloscope, Multimeter, Function Generator), Basic Electronic Designs & Tests, Digital Circuits Designs & Tests and PCB Assembly and tests.
• Biomedical Optics Lab: covers the following experiments: microscopes, light sources and detectors, photometry, emission and absorption spectrometry, instrumentation endoscopy and laser.
• Biomedical Simulation Lab: covers the following experiments: integrated circuits, operational amplifiers, signal conditioning and signal processing circuits, power electronics, characteristics of biomedical signals, noise detection and reduction, analog and digital signal processing and digital filters.
• Bio-control Lab: covers the following experiments: polyphase systems, transformers, motors; construction and principle of operation, speed control of small motors and motor controllers, Root-locus and frequency response analysis and biomedical applications.
• Computer Lab: covers the following experiments:  programming, use of word processing, graphics packages and spreadsheets.

Each laboratory has specific objectives, besides the general objectives which are common to all laboratories.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

The laboratory course is aimed at exploring previously learned knowledge, acquiring new knowledge by practice, and developing various skills and attitudes. To successfully complete the courses, students are expected to acquire, in an integrated approach, a variety of skills such as: experimentation, communication, instrumentation, mathematical modeling and statistical analysis, troubleshooting, startup and shutdown, and safety. This endeavor is expected to bridge the gap between the expectations of industry and the education our graduates receive, by exposing students to some reality and allowing them to feel and solve real problems. These objectives have been applied.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Each student is expected to run certain experiments, to perform the required calculations and to submit a technical report. Grading includes these activities and some oral and written exams, and presentations during the course.

FACILITIES, LOCATION, AND SIZE

Each laboratory is equipped with the required facilities which help achieving the laboratory objectives. For example, each laboratory has emergency exits, emergency showers and eyewash facilities, personal protective equipment, fire extinguishers, and first aid equipment. All laboratories are equipped with fire protection systems, which are supposed to operate automatically at around 70 oC. A computer laboratory is available which serves all the laboratory courses and other courses in the department. Several packages are available such as: Matlab, LabVIEW.