Felipe Machado

A Reconfigurable, Wearable, Wireless ECG System

New emerging concepts as ldquowireless hospitalrdquo, ldquomobile healthcarerdquo or ldquowearable telemonitoringrdquo require the development of bio-signal acquisition devices to be easily integrated into the clinical routine. In this work, we present a new system for electrocardiogram (ECG) acquisition and its processing, with wireless transmission on demand (either the complete ECG or only one alarm message, just in case a pathological heart rate detected). Size and power consumption are optimized in order to provide mobility and comfort to the patient. We have designed a modular hardware system and an autonomous platform based on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) for developing and debugging. The modular approach allows to redesign the system in an easy way. Its adaptation to a new biomedical signal would only need small changes on it. The hardware system is composed of three layers that can be plugged/unplugged: communication layer, processing layer and sensor layer. In addition, we also present a general purpose end-user application developed for mobile phones or personal digital assistant devices (PDAs).

Project based learning experience in VHDL digital electronic circuit design

In this paper we present our experience in teaching digital electronic circuit and system design with FPGAs using VHDL. The course follows a Project Based Learning methodology, in which the students learn how to design digital circuits and systems in a practical way. During the course, students design electronic circuits of incremental complexity. At the end of the course they are capable of implementing relatively complex projects, such as image processing systems and videogames.

Statistical Power Estimation For Register Transfer Level

In this paper, we propose a macromodeling approach that allows to estimate the power dissipation of intellectual property (IP) components to their statistical knowledge of the primary inputs. Our approach can handle combinational and sequential circuits for register transfer level. During power estimation procedure, the sequence of an input stream is generated by a genetic algorithm using input metrics. Then, a Monte Carlo zero delay simulation is performed and power dissipation is predicted by a macromodel function. In our experiments with IP macro-blocks, the results are effective and highly correlated, with an average error of just 1%. Our model is parameterizable and provides accurate power estimation

Objective Assessment of Olfactory Function Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)

Impairment of the olfactory sensibility can be an indicator of neurode generative disorders, such as Alzheimers disease and Parkinsons disease. The problem lies in obtaining an objective quantitative analysis of olfactory response. For this task, we will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a device that will provide a selective and controlled stimulation of the olfactory system. The novel issues of our design are synchronization between the acquisition and the olfactory task, and automated control of experimental parameters, odorants sequences, and frequency. We present a review of the basic fMRI experimental design of event-related stimulus paradigms versus block design experiments, and their use in olfactory experiments. Finally, we present the preliminary results obtained on a real 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.

Disjoint Region Partitioning for Probabilistic Switching Activity Estimation at Register Transfer Level

This paper presents a partition method for probabilistic switching activity estimation of combinational circuits described at register transfer level (RTL). Probabilistic estimation of switching activity requires large and complex models that could be unfeasible for large circuits; therefore, circuit partitioning becomes a necessary step to address the analysis. Nevertheless, partition methods imply approximations that produce inaccurate results. We present a partition method based on disjoint signals that minimizes the error and, in addition, it is easy to carry out. Results show important reductions on the binary decision diagrams (BDD) of the probabilistic model as well as low errors. Furthermore, the BDD reduction ratio shows a tendency to increase with large circuits; whilst error seems to decrease with the circuit size.

Objetive assessment of olfactory function using functional magnetic resonance (fMRI)

In this work, a device for generating automated olfactory stimuli in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies is described. The novel issues of our design are: synchronization between the acquisition and the olfactory task, automated control of experimental parameters (odorants sequences, frequency, time and concentration of stimuli). Finally, we present the preliminary results obtained on a General Electric 3 Tesla MRI scanner belong to The Alzheimer Project of the Fundación Reina Sofía.

A project-oriented integral curriculum on Electronics for Telecommunication Engineers

This paper describes the Electronics curriculum in the Telecommunication Engineer degree at Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) in Spain. Telecommunication Engineering started in the 2003–2004 academic year. In these years, all the electronic courses have been set up with a main practical orientation and with Project Based Learning (PBL) activities, both compulsory and voluntary. Once these courses have been successfully implemented we have reoriented some of the practical activities to be more interlaced. In this sense, projects involving students of different courses have been developed, as well as projects involving students from different years. All these activities fit in the principles promulgated by the Declaration of Bologna, which results in the actual updating of the university degree structure in Spain.

Exploiting VHDL-RTL features to reduce the complexity of power estimation in combinational circuits

A probabilistic method to calculate signal probabilities in order to estimate the power consumption of VHDL-RTL designs is presented. The propagation of signal probabilities is performed through the extraction of the BDD (Binary Decision Diagram) of the combinational logic. The method exploits some advantages of RTL (Register Transfer Level) designs which leads to smaller BDDs, avoiding the memory explosion caused by the signal dependences. The method is integrated in a design environment to help designers improve the quality and early explore their circuits.

Ardid: A Tool and a Model for the Quality Analysis of VHDL Based Designs

The quality of a product, i.e. a digital design, is a fuzzy concept that can be considered from different points of view. Usually, the most accepted definition of quality is the fulfilment of explicit or implicit requirements. Although there are several definitions of quality ([Cros79] [Demi86] [ISO87]), “quality can not be well defined, but it can, and should be modelled” [Jozw96] .

A method for switching activity analysis of VHDL-RTL combinatorial circuits

The analysis of circuit switching activity is a fundamental step towards dynamic power estimation of CMOS digital circuits. In this paper, a probabilistic method for switching activity estimation of VHDL-RTL combinatorial designs is presented. Switching activity estimation is performed through the propagation of input signals probabilities and switching activities by means of BDDs (Binary Decision Diagrams). In order to avoid the BDD memory explosion of large circuits, an automatic circuit partition is performed taking advantage of the specific characteristics of some VHDL statements that permit the circuit division in exclusive regions. In addition, a reduced representation of switching activity BDDs is proposed. The method is implemented in a CAD tool, which, besides the signal probabilities and switching activities, offers abundant information and means for circuit exploration.