Electromyography: Physiology, Engineering, and Noninvasive Applications [Book Review]

Biomedical Engineering Principles Arthur B. Ritter, Stanley Reisman, and Bozena B. Michniak, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, 2005. ISBN: 0824796160, 680 pages, US$99.95. This book serves as an introduction to the field of biomedical engineering for students with undergraduate training in engineering, physics, and mathematics. This book can be used for senioror graduate-level classes at universities, for short courses, or as a general knowledge book for practicing engineers wanting to learn more about biomedical engineering. The classic description of biomedical engineering is that it is the application of engineering analysis to problems in medicine and life sciences. Biomedical engineering is not one discipline but several interacting disciplines that coexist within the same field. Since biomedical engineering cuts across several engineering disciplines, the book is divided into several sections. Each section is intended to be complementary and to serve as a background for students or practitioners whose prior training has not included this material. The first section addresses modeling, transport processes, cell physiology, and the cardiovascular system. Chapter 1 presents an overview and introduction to engineering analysis of physiological systems, the nature of biological data, and the role of models and simulation in experimental design. The chapter introduces the concepts of conservation of mass, compartments, convection, and diffusion. It also develops pharmacokinetic models for drug distribution. Chapter 2 covers cell physiology and transport, introducing the primary mechanisms by which water and solutes get into and out of cells. Chapter 3 covers the fundamentals of hemodynamics and the nature of blood and blood vessels as engineering materials. Chapter 4 is an introduction to the cardiovascular system, covering the cardiac conduction pathway, control of heart rate, EKG measurement and interpretation, cardiac output, cardiac work, and autonomic and local regulation of blood flow. The second section of the book reviews the concepts of biomedical signal processing. Chapter 5 discusses biomedical signals and how to represent them. The frequency content of a signal, periodic functions, and Fourier series are reviewed. Chapter 6 discusses signal acquisition and processing. Topics include sampling theorem, sampling rate, and aliasing. Chapter 7 discusses techniques for physiological signal processing. Topics include AR modeling, time-frequency analysis, short-time Fourier transforms, and quadratic distributions. Chapter 8 contains examples of physiological signal processing. The third section of the book contains an introduction to and practical applications of biomechanics. Chapter 9 is an introduction to the principles of biomechanics and discusses the analysis of human movement, human dynamics, measurements of muscle force, electrical stimulation of skeletal muscle, mechanical characteristics of biological materials, bone remodeling, body cycles, thermal regulation, and hypothermia. Chapter 10 contains a discussion of some practical applications of biomechanics, using the principles developed in Chapter 9. The fourth section of the book presents an introduction to tissue engineering. Chapter 11 covers the history of tissue engineering, materials, biological interactions, and the role of cells in tissue engineering. Applications of tissue engineering in skin equivalents, cardiovascular components, bone regrowth, muscle tissue, and nerve regeneration are also discussed. Chapter 12 looks at future developments in biomedical engineering. For university faculty, the book is an excellent textbook for a class. Each chapter contains numerous examples and contains many figures to enhance learning. References and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. Problems are included at the end of chapters, where they will best test the student's knowledge. For practicing engineers without a biomedical engineering background, the book provides an excellent resource to explain the many intricacies of biomedical engineering and provides sufficient background material to make the subject understandable. —Richard C. Fries, PE, CRE Baxter Healthcare, Inc.