Introduction to
Biosignals & Systems
Lecture 1
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of biosignals
and the concept of a system.
2. Describe elementary signals and basic operations on signals.
3. Express any waveform in terms of basic elementary signals,
as the unit step function.
4. Demonstrate understanding of Laplace transform and its
properties.
5. Use Laplace transform in systems analysis.
6. Discuss of the concept of convolution and system impulse
response.
7. Overview Fourier transform and its relation to Laplace
transform.
8. Analyze analog filters and study their design procedures.
9. Overview the sampling theory.
10. Practice applications using MATLAB.
11. Effectively manage tasks, time and resources
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Course Assessment
Final exam: 60%
Year work: 40%
Mid-term: 20%
Quizzes & Assignments: 15%
Attendence: 5%
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 3
Course Delivery Methods
Lectures:
On campus (odd weeks)
Distance learning (even weeks)
• ppt and videos will be uploaded offline prior to lecture
timing on schedule via the course link on Blackboard.
Office hours: Biweekly from 11:30 to 12:10.
Sections/Tutorials:
Face-to-face: to be performed on campus in a physical
classroom.
Online: to be coordinated with the course TA.
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 4
Biosignals and Systems: Three
building blocks
Concept
2x3=6 Math
Tools
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 5
Biosignals and Systems
Signal: A signal is any function of
time.
System: A system is some machine or
procedure that takes one signal as
input, does some processing to it, and
produces another signal as output.
x(t) y(t)
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Biosignals and Systems
We encounter many types of signals in various
applications
Electrical signals: voltage, current, magnetic and
electric fields,…
Mechanical signals: velocity, force, displacement,…
Acoustic signals: sound, vibration,…
Biosignals: pressure, temperature, EEG, ECG,
EMG,….
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 7
Biosignals and Systems
Most real-world signals are analog
They are continuous in time and amplitude
Convert to voltage or currents using sensors and
transducers
Analog circuits process these signals using
Resistors, Capacitors, Inductors, Amplifiers,…
Analog signal processing examples
Audio processing in FM radios
Video processing in traditional TV sets
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 8
Biosignals: where do they
come from?
Biological signals:
An action potential is defined as
a sudden, fast, transitory, and
propagating change of the
resting membrane potential.
Only neurons and muscle cells
are capable of generating
an action potential; that
property is called the excitability.
o Biosignals are the reflection of accumulated action
potentials of subdermal tissues of a living being.
o They reflect the electrical activities of the muscular and
the neural cells in a synchronized manner.
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Biosignals: where do they
come from?
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Time
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 10
Biosignals: where do they
come from?
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
Time
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 11
Biosignals: where do they
come from?
Electromyogram (EMG)
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 12
Elementary Signals
& Operations
Big Picture: 4 Types
Aperiodic Periodic
Analog
(continuous-
time)
t t
Discrete-
time
t t
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Basic operations on signals
Given a signal:
x(t)
0 t
Mirror:
x(-t)
0
t
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Basic operations on signals
Time- Shifting or time delay:
x(t) x(t-a)
Right: +ve a
Left: -ve a
0 a t
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Unit Step Function
Denoted as u0(t) is a discontinuous function that changes
abruptly from 0 to1 at t = 0.
if it changes at t = t0 instead, it is denoted as u0(t-t0)
If it changes abruptly from 0 to 1 at t = -t0, it is denoted as
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Unit Step Function
The unit step function offers a convenient
method of describing the sudden application of
a signal, for example a voltage or current source
Example:
Consider the network shown,
where the switch is closed at time
t =T.
Express the output voltage as
a function of the unit step function,
and sketch the appropriate waveform.
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Unit Step Function
Solution:
The output voltage
Therefore,
Biosignals and Systems by A.Prof. Dr. Shereen M. El-Metwally 20
Unit Step Function
Other forms of the unit step function:
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Unit Step Function
Can be used to represent other time-varying
functions such as the rectangular pulse.
= +
Thus, the pulse is represented as:
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Unit Step Function
Example: Express the square waveform as a sum of unit
step functions.
The square waveform is the summation of all the above:
Combining like terms, we get
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Unit Step Function
Example: Express the symmetric triangular waveform as a
sum of unit step functions.
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Unit Ramp Function
Denoted as u1(t), is defined as
This integral represents the area under the step input
from - ∞ to t. Therefore:
Similarly, u0(t) is the derivative of u1(t):
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Unit Ramp Function
Higher order functions can be generated by repeated
integration of the unit step function.
and
Example:
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Unit Impulse (or Delta)
Function
The unit impulse or delta function, denoted as δ(t), is the
derivative of the unit step
The function of Figure (a) becomes the unit step as ε 0
We see that as ε 0, 1/2ε becomes unbounded, but the
area of the rectangle remains 1.
Therefore, δ(t) approaches a very large spike or impulse
at the origin, with unbounded amplitude, zero width, and
area equal to 1.
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Delta Function: Sampling
Property
The sampling property of the delta function states that:
When a = 0:
This means that: multiplication of any function by the
delta function results in sampling the function at the time
instants where the delta function is not zero.
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Delta Function: Sampling
Property
Continuous-time
signal
t
“Sampling”
Discrete -time
signal
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Delta Function: Sifting
Property
The sifting property of the delta function states that:
This means that: if we multiply any function by
δ(t-α), and integrate from - ∞ to ∞, we will obtain the
value of f(t) evaluated at t = α.
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Proof:
Consider
Using intergration by parts:
0 a α b
Then
Since for a ≤ t < α
Therefore
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Example
Evaluate the following expressions:
Solutions:
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Example
Solution:
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Example, cont’d.
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Example, cont’d
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