Biopac Student Lab

Biopac Student Lab
BASIC TUTORIAL
Version 3.0.3
Running the Biopac Student Lab — page 3
Locating files in Review Saved Data mode — page 4
Important Concepts — pages 6, 7, 10
Display functions — page 11
PC running Windows
or Macintosh
Measurements — page 21
Markers — page 26
Journal functions — page 28
Printing — page 31
Saving — page 33
Jocelyn Kremer
Documentation
BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
William McMullen
Vice President
BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
42 Aero Camino, Santa Barbara, CA
93117
Phone (805) 685-0066
Fax (805) 685-0067
Email: info@biopac.com
Web Site: http://www.biopac.com
[05141999]
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Biopac Student Lab
Copyright
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment
on the part of BIOPAC Systems, Inc. This tutorial and the software it describes are copyrighted with all
rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this tutorial or the software may not be copied, in whole or part,
without the written consent of BIOPAC Systems, Inc., except in the normal use of the software or to
make a backup copy.
The same proprietary and copyright notices must be affixed to any permitted copies as were affixed to
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the material purchased (with all backup copies) may be sold, given, or loaned to another person. Under
the law, copying includes translating into another language or format.
Biopac Student Lab Tutorial, including all text and graphics, are ©1998 BIOPAC Systems, Inc., with all
rights reserved.
Warranty
BIOPAC Systems, Inc. warrants its hardware products against defects in materials and workmanship for
a period of 12 months from the date of purchase. If BIOPAC Systems, Inc. receives notice of such
defects during the warranty period, it will, at its option, repair or replace the hardware products that
prove to be defective.
This warranty applies only if your BIOPAC Systems, Inc. product fails to function properly under
normal use and within the manufacturer’s specifications. This warranty does not apply if, in the sole
opinion of BIOPAC Systems, Inc., your BIOPAC Systems, Inc. product has been damaged by accident,
misuse, neglect, improper packing, shipping, modification, or servicing by other than BIOPAC Systems,
Inc.
Any returns should be supported by a Return Mail Authorization (RMA) number issued by BIOPAC
Systems, Inc. BIOPAC Systems, Inc. reserves the right to refuse delivery of any shipment containing
any shipping carton without the RMA number(s) displayed on the outside. The Buyer shall prepay
transportation charges to the site designated by BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
BIOPAC Systems, Inc. makes no warranty or representation, either expressed or implied, with respect to
this software, its quality, performance, merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose. As a result,
this software is sold “as is” and you, the Buyer, are assuming the entire risk as to its quality and
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damages resulting from any defect in the software or its documentation, even if advised of the
possibility of such damages, or for damage of any equipment connected to a BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
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Trademarks
Biopac Student Lab is a trademark of BIOPAC Systems, Inc.
Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
This document was created with Microsoft Word for Windows, Adobe Photoshop, Corel Draw 7.0.
Mainstay Capture, and JASC, Inc. JasCapture.
Basic Tutorial
3
Welcome to the Biopac Student Lab!
To learn how the Biopac Student Lab works and how it can make your work easier, you can either
complete this interactive Tutorial or read Recording Mode Basics and Analysis Mode Basics in the
Orientation Chapter.
Running the Biopac Student Lab
To use this Tutorial, you need to open the SampleData file. To begin, follow the simple steps below.
1. Turn the computer ON.
2. Start the Biopac Student Lab
program as follows:
To launch the program on a PC running Windows 95®, use the
Start menu as shown (or open BSL.EXE):
PC users
¾
Use the Windows “Start”
menu to open the “Biopac
Student Lab” program.
Mac users
¾
¾
Open the BIOPAC Student
Lab folder.
To launch the program on a Mac, locate and open the BIOPAC
Student Lab folder on the desktop. If it isn’t there, ask your Lab
Instructor for assistance.
Double-click on the
application icon
Next, double-click on the BIOPAC Student Lab icon.
3. A message regarding hardware
may appear.
PC users
¾
For this tutorial (and all
future analysis), click
Cancel.
If there is no hardware connected, the following message will
appear:
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Biopac Student Lab
Mac users
¾
For this tutorial (and all
future analysis), click No
hardware.
4. Next you will be prompted to
choose a lesson.
¾
For this tutorial (and for all
future analysis), select
Review saved data and
click OK.
You may have to scroll down to Review Saved Data.
5. Open the Data Files folder.
¾
PC users — your program
may open the Data Files
for you. If so, skip to the
next step.
6. Open the SampleData folder.
Open the Data Files folder, which is in the Biopac Student Lab
program folder.
Open the SampleData folder, which is in the Data Files folder.
Basic Tutorial
5
7. Open the SampleData-L07 file.
Select and open the SampleData-L07 file, which is in the
SampleData folder.
Now you are ready to start the Tutorial!
The Tutorial begins by introducing three basic concepts that make the Biopac Student Lab unique and
powerful, and then provides detailed instructions on how to use important features of the program. You can
have fun experimenting with the display and analysis functions of the Biopac Student Lab.
Don’t worry — you can’t lose or damage the SampleData-L07 file.
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Biopac Student Lab
Part A — Important Concepts
IMPORTANT CONCEPT #1
There is a Data window and a Journal and each is saved as a separate file.
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The Data window displays the waveforms and is where you will perform your measurements and
analysis.
The Journal is where you will make notes. You can extract information from the Data window
and put it in the Journal and you can export the Journal to other programs for further analysis.
8. Review the display to identify
the Data Window and the
Journal.
¾
¾
The Sample-L07 file should open as shown:
The Data Window
displays waveform(s)
during and after recording,
and is also called the
"Graph Window."
The Journal works like a
standard word processor to
store recording notes and
measurements.
Display windows of the Biopac Student Lab
Basic Tutorial
7
IMPORTANT CONCEPT #2
The BSL allows you complete flexibility in how the data is viewed. Chart recorders lock you into one
view, but with the BSL you can expand or compress the visual scales to aid in data analysis. The Data
window display is completely adjustable, which makes data viewing and analysis easier.
¾
¾
¾
¾
Zoom in on specific segments to take measurements, examine anomalies, etc.
View the entire record at one time to look for trends, locate anomalies, etc.
Hide a channel from view or view multiple channels.
Overlap channels for easier comparison.
Zoom
9. Click on the zoom icon.
The zoom
10. Position the cursor in the CH 1
ECG band at about 5.00
seconds, then click and hold the
mouse button down and drag
the cursor to about 10.00
seconds.
The following figure shows an example of a selection made in
the ECG data with the zoom tool.
¾
icon is in the lower right of the data window.
This will draw a box
around the area.
11. Release the mouse button and
review your result.
When the mouse button is released, the boundaries of the
selected area become the new boundaries of the data window.
The Zoom function is very useful for expanding a waveform in
order to see more detail.
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Biopac Student Lab
Scales
12. Move the vertical scroll bar to
reposition the Channel 1 ECG
waveform.
¾
Note that the CH 40 Pulse
waveform did not move.
This is because the vertical
scale is independent for
each channel.
13. Move the horizontal scroll bar.
¾
Note that both waveforms
moved. This is because the
horizontal scale controls all
channels.
14. Pull down the Display menu
and select Autoscale
horizontal.
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Autoscale horizontal from
is a quick way to fit the
entire waveform within the
data window.
15. Pull down the Display menu
and select Autoscale
waveforms.
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Autoscale waveforms will
center waveforms in the
display window.
Selecting Autoscale horizontal
and then Autoscale waveforms
is the standard way to quickly
and easily return to your original
data display.
Show/Hide a channel
16. Hide Channel 40 as follows:
¾
¾
PC — hold the “Ctrl”
(Control) key down and
click on the Channel 40 box
Macintosh — hold the
“option” key down and
click on the Channel 40
box.
The channel 40 box is in the upper left of the data window.
When you hide a channel, the data is not lost, but simply hidden,
so that you can focus on specific channel(s). Hidden channels
can be brought back into view at any time.
The channel box displays a “slash” when that channel is turned
off.
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Biopac Student Lab
IMPORTANT CONCEPT #3
Measurements are fast, accurate, and automatically updated. The measurement tools are used to extract
specific information from the waveform(s). Measurements are used in the Data Analysis section of every
lesson, so understanding their basic operation is important.
Let’s say you wanted to know the heart rate for the sample ECG data. You could get a rough estimate of
the average heart rate by counting the number of peaks (R-waves) within the first 10 seconds (14 in this
example) and multiplying by 6 to get the number of beats per minute (84 in this example).
Or, you could take a much easier and more accurate reading with the Student Lab measurement tools.
17. Pull down a measurement type
box and select BPM.
18. Select an area from the peak of
one R-wave to the peak of the
next R-wave using the I-beam.
19. Review the result.
The measurement type box is a pop-up menu next to each
channel number box that allows you to choose any of the 17
Biopac Student Lab measurement functions.
Click on the I-beam
icon to activate the I-beam cursor. If the
correct region is not established by the “I-Beam” cursor for the
measurement type, the result will be meaningless.
Results will be automatically updated when
you change the channel selection or the selected area.
Congratulations! You should now recognize the basic concepts and be able to begin using the Biopac
Student Lab for data analysis. For more detailed instruction, complete the full tutorial.
Basic Tutorial
11
Part B — Display Functions
20. Show Channel 40 again.
21. Select Autoscale horizontal
from the Display menu.
22. Select Autoscale waveforms
from the Display menu.
23. Familiarize yourself with the data The Biopac Student Lab software has a variety of Display Tools
viewing tools and display regions available that allow you to change the data display by adjusting
of the Data Window.
axis scales, hiding channels, zooming in, adding grids, etc. This
can be very useful when you are interested in studying just a
portion of a record, or to help you identify and isolate significant
data in the record for reporting and/or analysis.
ch an n e l b ox es (D a ta A na ly sis m o d e o n ly )
less o n d isp lay b u tto n s (ca n v a ry fro m le sso n to lesso n )
ac tiv e c h an n el
lab el
v e rtical sca le s
c ha n ne l d isp lay re gion (C H 1)
v e rtical scro ll b ox
v e rtical scro ll b ar
ch an n e l lab e ls
c ha n ne l d isp lay re gion (C H 40 )
h o rizo ntal scroll ba r
h o rizo ntal scroll bo x
h o rizo ntal sca le
se le c tion to o l
zo o m to o l
Editing and Selection Tools
24. Locate the editing and selection
tool icons in the lower right of
the Data Window.
A good starting point is to understand the editing and selection
tools. In the lower right of the data window there are three icons
representing the selection tool, the “I-Beam” tool, and the zoom
tool.
To select any of these tools simply click the mouse on the desired
icon, and it will darken to indicate it is active (the I-beam is
darkened/active in the picture above). Each tool displays a
different mouse cursor when it is active. The sample data file
opens with the selection tool active.
25. Click on the I-beam tool and
move the cursor into the channel
display region to see how the
cursor changes.
The I-Beam icon changes the cursor to and is used to
select an area for measurement, as will be demonstrated later.
26. Click on the zoom tool and move
The zoom icon changes the cursor to
and is used to
the cursor into the channel
expand a section of the waveform to see more detail, as will be
display region to see how the
demonstrated later.
cursor changes.
27. Click on the selection tool and
move the cursor into the channel
display region to see how the
cursor changes.
The selection icon changes the cursor to
and is a generalpurpose cursor tool, used for selecting waveforms and scrolling
through data.
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Biopac Student Lab
Activate a Channel
28. Locate the Channel boxes in the
upper left portion of the data
window.
In the upper left portion of the data window are the channel
boxes. They enable you to identify the active channel and hide
channels from view, so as to concentrate on or print out only
specific waveforms at a time. The “active” channel appears
depressed, and on Macs, there is a label next to the channel box
that indicates the active channel. In the sample below, CH 1 ECG
is the active channel.
(this label appears on Macs only).
29. Mac users only -- Using the
selection tool, click on the
Channel 40 box to activate it and
notice how the channel label to
the right of the channel boxes
changed to “Pulse” to indicate the
active channel.
To activate another channel simply click on the channel number
box with the selection tool, and its label will be displayed.
Show/Hide channel
Another data viewing feature of the Biopac Student Lab system, is
the ability to hide any of the channels from view. The data for a
disabled channel is not lost, but simply hidden, so that the user
can focus on specific channel(s). These hidden channels can be
brought back into view at any time.
30. Use the selection tool to hide
Channel 40 as follows:
¾
¾
PC — hold down the “Ctrl”
(Control) key and click on
the Channel 40 box
The channel box that is active is the channel that contains the
displayed label. The label to the right of the channel boxes should
correspond to the label to the left of each channel’s display region.
You should notice that the active channel appears to be depressed.
The channel box displays a “slash” when that channel is turned
off.
Macintosh — hold the
“option” key down and click
on the Channel 40 box.
31. Click on Channel 1 to activate it.
Notice that the label changes
from “Pulse” to “ECG.”
Hiding an active channel does not prevent it from being the active
channel; you must still select another channel to activate it.
Basic Tutorial
Show / Hide Grid Display
32. Pull down the File menu and
scroll down to select Display
Preferences.
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Another powerful feature is the ability to Show or Hide the grid
display. A grid is a series of horizontal and vertical lines that
assist the eye with finding data positions with respect to the
horizontal and vertical scales.
To turn grids on and off in the Review Saved Data mode, simply
choose Display Preferences from the File menu as shown below.
33. Select “Grids” and click on
“Ok.”
A window will appear as shown:
34. Select Show Grids to turn the
grid display ON, and click Ok.
Another window will appear as shown:
(To turn the grid display OFF,
select Hide Grids.)
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Biopac Student Lab
35. Review the display with grids.
Note that the Grids display affects all channels. If you show a
channel that was hidden when Grids were activated, the grid
display will show on the channel.
36. Repeat steps 20-22 to Hide
Grids again.
Scroll - horizontal
37. Locate the horizontal scroll bar
at the lower edge of the display
and the horizontal scroll box
arrows at the left and right ends
of the bar.
You can move to different locations in the record by using the
horizontal scroll bar. In our example, the horizontal scale
represents time in seconds.
If the entire waveform is being displayed, the scroll bar will dim,
and it will not allow changes. If however, you have zoomed or
changed the horizontal scale, such that only a portion of the
waveform is in view, then the scroll bar will be active.
This is a standard Windows style scroll bar (for both Mac and
PC). Note that since the horizontal scale applies to all channels in
view, it will move every waveform simultaneously.
Basic Tutorial
15
38. Move to different locations in the
record by clicking on the bar, or
clicking and holding down the
mouse button on the horizontal
scroll box to “drag” it left or
right.
Notice the horizontal scale range
on the bottom changes to indicate
your position in the record.
39. Move to locations later in the
record by clicking on the arrow
on the right end of the scroll bar.
You can click on the arrow and
hold down the mouse button to
create a continuous scroll.
Scroll – vertical
40. Locate the vertical scroll bar
along the right edge of the
display and the vertical scroll box
arrows at the top and bottom of
the bar.
A similar scroll bar can be found next to the vertical scale. This is
the vertical scroll bar, and it allows you to move a specific
waveform either up or down. The channel that it moves is the one
shown by the active channel box. To move a different channel
click on corresponding channel box using the selection tool.
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41. Move the waveform up by
clicking on the arrow on the
bottom of the scroll bar. Notice
the vertical scale range on the
right side changed.
42. Move the waveform back to
center by dragging the box to the
center (zero) position.
43. Choose Autoscale waveform to
center the waveform in the
display window.
Biopac Student Lab
Basic Tutorial
17
44. Use the selection tool to show
channel 40 again.
¾
¾
PC — hold down the “Ctrl”
(Control) key and click on
the Channel 40 box
Macintosh — hold down the
“option” key and click on the
Channel 40 box
Scales
45. Identify the horizontal scale
along the bottom of the screen
and the vertical scale along the
right edge of the screen.
Adjust horizontal scale
46. Click anywhere in the horizontal
scale region to bring up the
adjustment box.
47. Read about the Time, Start, and
Precision options to the right
Note that any change you make to the horizontal or vertical scale
only effects how the waveforms are displayed, and never alters
the saved data file. That is to say, you will never lose any data
when you change these settings.
If you click anywhere within the horizontal scale region, a
window will pop up as shown below. This window allows you to
precisely specify the horizontal scale.
The Time setting defines the number of seconds per division
displayed in the data window. Edit the number like you would in a
word processor or double click in the appropriate box and type in
a new number
The Start setting defines the placement of the waveforms by
setting the time displayed at the left most portion of the data
window. Edit the number like you would in a word processor or
double click in the appropriate box and type in a new number.
The Precision setting controls the number of significant digits
displayed in the horizontal scale region. Click and hold down the
mouse on the precision number. A pop-up menu will appear,
allowing you to make another selection.
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Biopac Student Lab
Changes made in this window
will be performed after clicking
on the “OK” button.
If no changes are desired, click
on “Cancel.”
Adjust vertical scale
48. Click anywhere in the vertical
scale region for Channel 1 to
bring up the adjustment box.
If you click anywhere within the vertical scale region, a window
will pop as shown below.
Note that the vertical scale is
independent for each channel.
Note that the vertical scale is independent for each channel, so
you need to select the appropriate channel prior to clicking on the
vertical scale. If the vertical scale you want to change is not the
one displayed (in our case CH 1), click on “Cancel” and then click
on the appropriate channel box using the selection tool.
49. Read about the Scale, Midpoint,
Precision, and All channels
options to the right.
Scale defines the amplitude per division displayed in vertical
scale. Edit the number like you would in a word processor or
double click in the appropriate box and type in a new number.
Midpoint defines the amplitude value corresponding to the center
of that channel’s vertical scale. Edit the number like you would in
a word processor or double click in the appropriate box and type
in a new number.
Precision establishes the number of significant digits displayed in
the vertical scale region. Click and hold down the mouse on the
precision number. A pop-up menu will appear, allowing you to
make another selection.
All Channels is a quick way to have the scale setting apply to all
of the vertical scales in the data window. This is particularly
useful when all of the channels are the same type of data (i.e. 2 or
3 channels of ECG data). Click in the box. An “X” will appear
when the option is activated. Repeated clicking in the box will
toggle the option on or off.
50. Changes made in this window
will be performed after clicking
on the “Ok” button.
If no changes are desired, click
on “Cancel.”
Basic Tutorial
Zoom
51. Click on the zoom tool icon to
select it.
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The zoom tool
is very useful for expanding a waveform in
order to see more detail. The zoom function can only be used on a
single channel at a time but effects all channels.
52. Position the cursor at the start of
the section you’d like to zoom in
on, then click and hold the mouse
button down and drag the cursor
to draw a box around the area.
If you know the precise section of the waveform that you’d like to
enlarge, you can use the Zoom tool to draw a box around the area
you wish to zoom in on. The following figure shows an example
of a selection made in the ECG data with the zoom tool.
53. Release the mouse button and
review your result.
When the mouse button is released, the boundaries of the selected
area become the new boundaries of the data window, as shown:
¾
Note that the vertical scale
changed for the selected
channel, but the horizontal
scale changed for all
channels.
The vertical scale will change for the selected channel only, but
the horizontal scale will change for all channels; this is because
the horizontal (time) scale is the same for all channels.
Display Menu
54. Pull down the Display menu to
review the options.
The Display menu contains even more tools for manipulating the
data display. When you click on Display and hold down the
mouse, the following options will pop-up:
Display Menu options
To use any of these options, click and hold down the mouse
button on the “Display” menu and drag down to the desired
selection, then release the mouse button.
20
55. Select Zoom previous to “undo”
the Zoom.
Biopac Student Lab
After you have zoomed in on a section of the waveform, you may
“undo” the zoom and revert to the scale settings (both horizontal
and vertical) established prior to the last zoom by selecting Zoom
previous from the Display menu.
The Zoom previous function will only go back one Zoom
function. You can not select it 6 times, for instance, to go back 6
zooms.
56. Activate Channel 1.
Click in the Channel 1 channel box to activate it.
57. Move the vertical scroll bar to
reposition the Channel 1 ECG
waveform.
These next two steps are so you will be able to see the effect of
the Autoscale waveform function.
58. Select Channel 40 and move the
vertical scroll bar to reposition
the Channel 40 Pulse waveform.
59. Pull down the Display menu and
select Autoscale waveforms.
The Autoscale waveforms option of the Display menu is a very
handy tool that performs a “best fit” to each channel’s vertical
scale. That is, it will adjust the “Scale” and “Midpoint” of each
channel’s vertical scale, such that the waveform fills
approximately two-thirds of the available area.
After autoscaling, the “Scale” will probably not be set to nice
even numbers, so you may wish to manually adjust the scale
slightly if even numbers are desired.
Basic Tutorial
60. Pull down the Display menu and
select Autoscale horizontal.
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Autoscale horizontal from the Display menu is a quick way to fit
the entire waveform within the data window. That is, it will adjust
the horizontal scale such that the left most portion of the screen is
the start of the recording, and the right most portion is the end of
the recording. The time per division setting, will not necessarily
be nice even numbers.
Part C — Extracting Measurements
The Selected Area
61. Read about the Selected Area to
the right.
The “selected area” for all measurements is the area selected by
the I-Beam tool (including the endpoints). Note that the “I-beam”
cursor position when the mouse button was first pressed defines
the starting point and the position at release defines the end
position of the selected area.
A critical concept for the measurement tools is that the
measurement results only apply to the area established by the “IBeam” cursor.
¾
¾
The selected area can be a single point, an area, or the end
points of a selected area.
If there is no point or area highlighted on the screen,
then the measurement results are meaningless.
22
Biopac Student Lab
¾
It is up to you to select a point or an area with the I-Beam
cursor, as the software will never do it automatically.
Select a single-point area
62. Click on the I-beam tool icon to
activate it.
63. Move the cursor over a point on
the data.
You will notice that whenever the cursor is over data it is
displayed as an “I.”
64. Click on the mouse button.
When you have a flashing line, you have one point of data
selected. If the line is not flashing, it means that you moved the
cursor while the mouse button was pressed, and you actually
selected more than one point of data. If this occurred simply click
on another portion of data.
A flashing line should appear at
the cursor position.
o n e d ata po in t se le c ted
(flash in g lin e)
65. Click on the selection tool icon to When you are finished taking measurements, and wish to
deactivate the point.
deactivate a point, click on the selection tool icon.
Selecting an area (several points)
66. Click on the I-Beam tool icon to
activate it.
67. Move the cursor over a point on
the data.
68. Drag the mouse while keeping
the mouse button held down.
69. Release the mouse button.
¾
An area should be
highlighted.
When the mouse button is released, an area should be highlighted
(darkened) on the screen, as shown below. This is very similar to
how you select words in a word processing program.
A rea (group o f data po in ts) selected
Basic Tutorial
23
70. Click the mouse on another point
of data and then click on the
selection tool icon to deactivate
the point.
When you are finished taking measurements and wish to
deactivate a selected area, click the mouse on another portion of
data to select just one point (flashing line appears), then click on
the selection tool icon.
Measurement tools
The measurement tools are used to extract specific information
from the waveform(s). Measurements are used in the Data
Analysis section of every lesson, so understanding their basic
operation is important.
71. Read about Measurement Tools
to the right.
To use the measurement tools, you must
a) set the channel measurement box to the desired channel
b) select a measurement tool from the pop-up menu
c) select an area for measurement
Note that you can perform these elements in any order, but all
three must be completed to achieve a valid measurement.
Two important points regarding measurements need to be
mentioned here:
1. The first is that the measurement only applies to data in the
selected area of the waveform that the user specifies.
2. The second is that every lesson contains the same
measurement options, but some may not be applicable to that
particular lesson. This is because the measurement options are
a standard set of tools that are always available, much like a
scientific calculator contains a standard set of buttons, many of
which may not be necessary for any given problem.
72. Locate the channel
measurement box regions.
Note that there are four channel measurement box regions
shown in the window. The SampleData file contains two channels
of data.
ch an n el b o x es
(d ata an alysis m od e on ly)
ch an n el m e asu rem ent bo x re g ion s
S elec tio n cu rso r ic o n
"I" B ea m cu rsor ico n
The measurement box regions can be set to correspond to any of
the channels shown on the screen. To change to another channel,
simply click on its channel box, and read the new label.
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73. Review the Channel Box
Region.
Biopac Student Lab
The following figure shows a breakdown of the pieces within the
Channel box region:
m e asu rem e n t ty p e
P o p -u p m e n u
ch an n e l n u m b e r
P o p -u p m e n u
m e asu rem e n t resu lt
Elements of the channel box region
74. Pull down the Channel number
[CH] pop-up menu and review
the options.
The channel number refers to the channel of data that is active
for that measurement box region. To change a channel number,
click and hold down the mouse button over the channel number
box. A pop-up menu will appear allowing you to make another
selection.
The selections in the pop-up menu will contain the channels that
were recorded plus the “SC” option.
75. Position the cursor over a channel “SC” stands for Selected Channel, and is an optional way to take
box and pull down the menu to
measurements. When SC is selected, the channel the measurement
select the “SC” channel option.
region refers to is the one indicated by the depressed channel box.
To take a measurement from another channel, you may simply
click on the desired channel box, or click anywhere within the
data region for the desired channel using the selection tool icon.
This allows you to make quick measurement comparisons
between channels using one region.
To determine which channel number refers to which waveform,
look to the right of the box(es) for the active channel box label.
To “fix” the channel number for the region, simply choose the
desired channel number.
76. Position the cursor over a channel
box and click and hold down the
mouse button to generate the
pop-up menu. Select Channel 1.
If you have a color monitor, the boxes will be
outlined in the corresponding wave color.
Basic Tutorial
77. Position the cursor over a
measurement type box and pull
down the measurement tool popup menu.
25
The measurement type box is a pop-up menu next to each
channel box that allows you to choose any of the 17 Biopac
Student Lab measurement functions. (See the“Elements of the
channel box region” figure on page 24 for a complete list of
measurements).
The pop-up measurements always operate on the area you have
selected with the I-beam tool and will update instantly if the area
or measurement changes. For instance, if you choose p-p, you will
find the peak to peak value of the wave in the selected area. If you
choose max, you will get the maximum value of the selected area.
Note that all measurements are available in every lesson, but
some may not be used.
Measurement Result
78. Locate the measurement result
region.
Sample BPM reading
The measurement result is the value that the measurement
calculates.
From time to time, you will want to know specific things about
the data on the screen. For example, let’s say you wanted to know
the heart rate for the sample data.
Since you can see the peaks (R-Wave) in the ECG waveform, you
can get a rough estimate of the average heart rate by counting the
number of peaks within the first 10 seconds (14 in this example)
and multiplying by 6 to get the number of beats per minute (84 in
this example).
79. Activate Channel 1.
80. Adjust the horizontal scale so that
you can easily identify the Rwave peaks (try .30 seconds/div).
81. Use the I-beam tool to select an
area from the peak of one Rwave to the peak of the next Rwave.
If the correct region is not established by the “I-Beam” cursor for
the measurement type, the result will be meaningless.
82. Set a channel measurement box
to Channel 1, BPM.
83. Review the result.
Your result will vary; this is just an example.
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Biopac Student Lab
Part D — Markers
Markers
Markers are used to reference important locations in the data and
appear as inverted triangles within the marker region. Markers
84. Read about Markers to the right.
may be automatically inserted in a lesson and/or you may be
instructed when to insert a marker. Additionally, you may wish to
add markers or edit marker text after the recording. The specific
elements of markers are shown below:
M ark er Te xt
M ark er R egio n
M ark ers
M ark er To ols
To insert a marker while the data is being recorded, you must
depress the Esc key on a Macintosh, or the F9 key on the PC.
You may then type in text, which will be linked to that marker.
The text is shown in the left portion of the marker region.
The marker that is darkened/colored is the active marker for
which the marker text shown applies. You may change the
active marker by using the “marker tools” in the right portion
of the marker region (see figure above).
85. Click on the right pointing
marker tool.
Clicking on the right pointing marker tool will move to the
marker that was placed after the current active marker (if one
exists). Notice the marker label and the data position.
86. Click on the left pointing
marker tool.
Clicking on the left pointing marker tool will move to the
marker that was placed prior to the current active marker (if one
exists). Notice the marker label and the data position.
87. Click on the downward pointing Clicking on the downward pointing marker tool generates a
pop-up menu as shown:
marker tool.
To choose any of the menu items, simply scroll to the desired
option and release the mouse button when it is highlighted.
Basic Tutorial
88. Review the list of marker labels
at the bottom of the menu and
scroll down to select exhale.
27
All the marker labels in the record will be listed at the bottom of
the menu. The SampleData file has two markers. You may go to a
particular marker by scrolling down to select its label.
Moving to different markers using this menu may not seem very
relevant for the SampleData file, but when a lot of data has been
recorded, it can be a very useful tool.
Add a marker
89. Use the selection tool to click in
the marker region to the right of
the “exhale” marker to add a new
marker.
You may add markers to your data after it has been recorded
simply by clicking within the marker region using the selection
tool. This new marker will then become the current active marker,
and you may type in the marker text.
90. Label the new marker “test
marker” by entering text at the
flashing cursor in the marker text
region.
91. Pull down the downward marker
arrow and select the Find…
option.
The marker menu allows you to Find certain markers by entering
the marker text you want to locate.
92. PC: Enter “awake” when
prompted and click on Find.
Mac: Enter “inhale” when
prompted and click on Find.
93. If prompted, click Ok to restart
marker search from the
beginning of the record.
Selecting Find again will move to the next marker with the same
label (if one exists).
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Biopac Student Lab
Edit marker text
94. Use the selection tool to click in
the marker region and change
the label. For instance, Mac
users can change “inhale-hold
breath” to “inhale/hold” using
standard keyboard functions.
You may edit marker text by using the selection tool to click
within the marker region and using the keyboard functions to edit
the marker text.
95. Pull down the downward marker The Clear marker option will delete the current active marker.
arrow and select “Test marker”
Selecting Clear all markers will delete all the markers in the file.
and to go to it.
It is important to note that you cannot undo a “Clear
96. Pull down the downward marker
marker”
or “Clear all markers” function, so these
arrow and select the Clear
functions
should be selected with caution.
marker option to delete the
“Test marker.”
Part E — The Journal
97. Read about the Journal to the
right.
98. Click anywhere in the Journal
window to activate it.
Note that when the Journal is
the active window, the title bar
of the Journal includes sizing
and close boxes.
The Review Saved Data mode incorporates a Journal feature so
you can type notes or copy measurements from previously saved
data. You can also copy the data directly to the Journal. The
Journal needs to be the active window for its options to come up.
Basic Tutorial
29
Format Journal Entries
99. Pull down the File menu, scroll
down to Journal Preferences
and drag right to select
Journal/Clipboard
100. Review the options that can be
set to change the way
measurements are pasted into
the Journal.
You can set the font style and size and control formatting for text,
measurements and wave data.
101. Click in the box next to each
measurement paste option box
so that all are selected.
Select these options for the tutorial so that when you paste
measurements in a few steps you can easily identify them. When
you plan to export the measurements to a spreadsheet program
(such as Excel), it is best not to select all of the options, as they
will affect the formatting.
102. Click in the “Include time
values” box of the waveform
data paste options.
Again, make this selection for the tutorial, but you would not
normally select this if you planned to export the wave data to a
spreadsheet program.
103. Click Ok to accept the option
changes.
Time and Date Stamps
104. Position the cursor at the end of
the journal entries and click on
the clock icon to activate the
time stamp.
Review the Journal.
105. Click on the calendar icon to
activate the date stamp.
Review the Journal.
The Journal is also equipped with stamps for the time and date.
It’s always a good idea to time and date stamp the Journal.
The time stamp is the “clock” button at the top left of the Journal
window. When you click on the clock icon, the current time
(according to your computer’s System clock) will be entered in
the Journal at the cursor point.
The date stamp is the “calendar” button to the right of the time
stamp. When you click on the calendar icon, the current date
(according to your computer’s System calendar) will be entered in
the Journal at the cursor point.
30
Text entry
106. Place the cursor at the point
you wish to begin typing and
enter text using the standard
keyboard functions.
Biopac Student Lab
It’s possible to write anything you want directly in the Journal.
Just click on the Journal window and place the cursor at the point
you wish to begin typing.
To go back to the graph, just click on the graph window.
Paste a pop-up measurement
107. Select Channel 1 in the Data
Window.
Select the channel you want to measure by clicking on it with the
arrow tool or use the cursor to pick the correct channel number in
the boxes just left of each of the pop-up measurements.
108. Set a pop-up measurement box
for CH 1 BPM.
109. Set a second pop-up
measurement box for CH 1
Time.
110. Use the I-beam tool to select
a region from the peak of one
R-wave to the peak of the next
R-wave.
111. Pull down the Edit menu, scroll
to Journal and slide right to
select Paste Measurement.
112. Review the Journal entry.
When you use the Paste Measurement function, all the pop-up
measurements showing a value will be written to the Journal.
If you don’t want these measurements in the Journal, be sure to
select the measurement option “none.”
Paste Wave Data
113. Select the channel you wish to
measure.
114. Use the I-beam selection tool to
select the portion of the wave
you are interested in.
115. Pull down the Edit menu, scroll
down to Journal then scroll
right to Paste Wave Data.
The Paste Wave Data function will write all the points that make
up the data in the selected wave area to the Journal.
Select the channel you wish to measure by clicking on it using the
arrow tool or use the cursor to pick the correct channel in the
channel boxes just left of each of the pop-up measurements
Remember — it’s very easy to put a lot of data into the Journal
using this command. If you select one second of a wave that was
sampled at 200 Hz, 200 numbers will be pasted into the Journal.
Basic Tutorial
31
116. Review the Journal entry.
Saving the Journal
When saving the Journal, the program creates a standard text file.
The only file type option available is journal graph because the
Journal and Graph files are linked.
117. Pull down the File menu and
select Save Changes.
To save the Journal, click on the File menu and select Save
Changes.
118. Click on Save Changes to use
the existing file name and
location.
119. Click on the Journal window
and move to the File menu, and
select Save Changes.
120. Enter a new file name and/or
location and click on Save.
Part F— Printing
121. Read about the Print functions
to the right.
When you choose File > Print
you will be prompted to choose
which items to print.
You control how the data is presented on the printed page by
controlling how it is displayed on the screen prior to selecting Print.
All of the options relating to printing the data files apply to the
waveforms as they are displayed in the data window.
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Biopac Student Lab
122. Printing the Data Window
¾
To print the entire data file
123. Click the mouse in any portion
of the Data Window to make it
the active window.
The printer only works with the data shown in the data window, which
often is not the complete data file. If you’ve zoomed, changed the
scale, or hidden a channel, only the portion of data displayed in the
data window will be printed. This is actually very useful, because
oftentimes you may only want to display a portion of the data.
The next two steps will setup the display window to show the entire
data file.
124. Pull down the Display menu
and choose Autoscale
horizontal.
125. Pull down the Display menu
and choose Autoscale
waveforms.
126. Pull down the File menu and
choose Print > Print graph.
The following window is just one example of the window you may
see:
Your actual print window will depend on the printer (and Operating
System) you are using. Refer to the Users Manual for your computer
and/or printer if you need more details.
127. Click on Print.
128. Review the printed result.
Basic Tutorial
33
Part G — Saving Data
129. Read about the Save functions
to the right.
The Biopac Student Lab software lets you save the data
waveform(s) file for later review. The program will save the data
file automatically, with a file name based on the user name or I.D.
given at the start of each lesson.
The first step in every lesson is for you to enter in your name. The
Biopac Student Lab software then creates a folder with the exact
name you enter and places it in the Data Files folder of the
Biopac Student Lab Program folder. When the Done button is
pressed, the lesson will automatically save your data file to the
Data Files folder.
The software will save the data file with the name you entered
plus an extension that identifies the lesson number and the file
type (lesson data or journal). This extension is very important
because the software will key off this extension and open up
different tools for the Review Saved Data Mode, depending on
the lesson.
NEVER CHANGE THESE FILE NAMES.
In addition to saving the data file, the software will automatically
create a journal file and place lesson information in it. It will save
this journal with the same name as the data file, but with a “J” in
the extension instead of an “L” as was used for the data file. Since
the Review Saved Data mode needs to access both data and
journal files, ALWAYS KEEP THESE TWO FILES
TOGETHER.
Other lesson data files that use the same name will be placed in
this same folder, but the software will never allow you to save a
data file with the same name and lesson number. This information
is summarized in the following figure:
Jo u rn a l F iles
D ata F iles
F ile e x ten sio n s are ad d ed a u to m atic ally
Inside the “Data Files” folder
As a general note, because the Biopac Student Lab software is
saving the data and journal files automatically, you must exercise
caution when moving things around into different folders.
34
Biopac Student Lab
It is recommended that you never place other files or folders in
the BIOPAC Student Lab folder, and never take files or
folders out of the BSL folder with the exception of removing
data and journal files from the Data Files folder.
SAVE OPTIONS
Once in the Review Saved Data mode, you may alter the data
display window, or enter more information into the journal. When
you make changes to the data window, you are only changing
how the data appears on the screen — you are not altering the
data that has been originally recorded. Saving the changes will
never delete any data..
130. Review the save options under
the File menu.
File menu for “Save” options
The Save changes option saves the file in the original location.
The Copy to Floppy or Network option creates a copy of the
original file in a new location.
131. Pull down the File menu and
select the Save changes option.
To save without quitting the software, use the save options in the
“File” menu. These options are shown in the following figure.
132. Review the options and select
Cancel when done.
After a Save selection has been made, the following window
should appear.
PC
Macintosh dialog on next page Æ
Basic Tutorial
35
Macintosh
There are several options to review here:
¾ File location allows you to choose where the altered file
will be saved. Note that if you want to save to anywhere
different from where the original files were located—for
example, saving the data to floppy disks for later review—
you should use the Copy to Floppy or Network option.
This is in order to allow the Review Saved Data Mode to
work correctly.
¾ File name can not be altered from the original name.
Again,
this is to allow the Review Saved Data mode to work
correctly.
¾ File type is locked on Graph, which is the original way it
¾
was saved and is the waveform display you normally see on
screen. This mode copies the journal text as well.
The “Eject” button will eject the active disk and allow you
to insert a disk to copy to.
¾ The “Desktop” button will allow you to find files on the
desktop.
¾ The “New” button will create a new folder.
¾ The “Cancel” button terminates the Save function.
¾ The “Save” button instigates the Save function.
133. Pull down the file menu and
select Quit.
Alternatively, you can use the fast key shown. When you try to
quit the software after altering the data file and/or journal file in
any way, the following message will appear.
Quit prompt to save changes
36
Biopac Student Lab
134. If prompted, click Yes to save
all changes.
Alternatively, you can select the self-explanatory No or Cancel
options.
135. Eject the disk.
Alternatively, Mac users can drag the diskette icon to the Trash
icon and it will eject.
¾
¾
Mac: use Special menu
PC: manually eject disk
136. Close the file you opened and
close the hard drive window.
137. Remove the diskette from your
hard drive.
138. Drag the diskette icon to the
trash and release the mouse
button.
139. Pull down the Start or Special
menu and choose Shut down.