CleveMed Blogs

On New Years Eve 2009, Travis Pastrana found himself sitting in a rally car, mentally preparing to jump 269 feet across a body of water to break the world record for longest rally car jump. His instructions were clear: begin on the Pine Street Pier in Long Beach, California, take off on a ramp, fly approximately 50 feet above the water, and successfully land on a floating barge about 300 feet away. In the event of failure, he had a scuba tank, as well as rescue crews on the water.

CleveMed had the opportunity to use the BioRadio and BioCapture software to collect physiological data, as well as the car’s acceleration relative to free-fall, during Pastrana’s practice runs. Electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes and a respiratory effort belt were attached to Pastrana, and the BioRadio was set up to measure G-forces in the car and characteristics such as heart rate and breathing rate were derived. The BioRadio monitored Pastrana’s entire jump, and physiological data collected provided fascinating information about the physiological response Pastrana experienced related to performing such a dangerous and adrenaline-filled stunt.

So, here’s the physiology of Travis Pastrana’s 269-foot jump:

As Pastrana sat waiting to accelerate forward his heart rate was elevated at approximately 107 beats per minute (bpm). His breathing patterns were relatively normal at this time, but his respiratory rate was also elevated.

As Pastrana began his approach, heart rate increased to 110 bpm. Additionally, right as he began to accelerate he took a very deep breath. After this initial breath Pastrana’s breathing was very shallow and rapid.

Upon reaching the end of the ramp where the rally car began its flight, Pastrana’s heart rate was 122 bpm. In addition, at the moment the car reached the edge of the ramp, Pastrana held his breath, and continued to hold it the entire time in the air. During this mid-air flight, Pastrana’s heart rate was approximately 130 bpm.

When the rally car landed on the opposite ramp, Pastrana exhaled deeply, and was quickly followed by a deep inhale and gradually slower respiration rates. In addition, when his rally car made impact with the ramp, Pastrana’s heart rate was 138 beats per minute. Once the car began decelerating, his heart rate gradually decreased until reaching the average normal resting heart rate. This physiological data is significant because it provides insight into the body’s reaction to extreme stress.

But other explanations for Pastrana’s physiological response could be attributed to the physical forces he experienced during his rally car’s flight. It was seen that as Pastrana began accelerating, his car was under approximately 1G of force, and at take-off it was as high as 5G’s. You can read about it here, from “The Physiology of a 269-foot Jump” as seen in BioRadio Research & Education Quarterly, Summer 2010. You can also see a screen-shot of Pastrana’s physiological data collected by BioRadio here!

In conclusion, BioRadio provided a clear image of the physiological response of an extreme sportsman. Even though Pastrana has been performing dangerous stunts for over a decade, it is evident that he still experiences stress and probably excitement during his jaw dropping stunts!

I remember the story of a biomedical engineer I know. As an undergrad, he planned to graduate, leave school and enter the industry. In the last weeks of class, a professor brought in a patient with a high level spinal cord injury. He demonstrated how FES (functional electrical stimulation) could be used to control weak or paralyzed muscles. When he saw this paralyzed patient move his arms, he was hooked. He went on to graduate with a PhD in biomedical engineering with a focus on rehab engineering.

Biomedical Instrumentation 101: students learn circuit design, how to build an amplifier, data acquisition, signal processing, etc. The concepts are taught; but is there enough emphasis on how this information can be used in applications outside of the classroom? Education in these areas of engineering and physiology is important, but how it can be used in real world applications is just as critical.

CleveLabs is a lab course system that uses wireless data acquisition hardware and interactive software to teach engineering, data acquisition, digital signal processing and basic and advanced physiology. In addition to these customary topics, we also include a section of clinical applications: labs that demonstrate to students where they can apply all that they’ve learned. How about using electro-oculography (movement of the eye) to control the position of a dot on the screen, and control the color of the dot just by blinking? This shows how EOG can be used for computer cursor control, where blinking represents a click, for persons with high level spinal cord injuries. Or what about using electromyography (electrical muscle activity) from the biceps and wrist extensor muscles to control the elbow angle and hand grasp of a virtual robotic arm? This explains how the use of existing muscles can control a prosthetic limb. In addition, heart rate detectors are created, gait and stride time are measured, EEG is used to detect different states of alertness. CleveLabs goes beyond the traditional topics using clinical examples of biomedical engineering applications.

Where can real world examples, such as the story of my friend, take your students?

CleveMed specializes in the manufacture of wireless, subject-worn physiological monitoring equipment. Within the Division of Research and Education systems, a number of wireless data acquisition devices are offered for a variety of applications.

BioCapture is a research system that uses the BioRadio, a wireless data acquisition device for physiological monitoring. The BioRadio can measure any combination of signals such as ECG, EMG, EEG, EOG, respiration, SpO2 and more. Data is telemetered to a receiver connected to a nearby PC. The information is displayed through the software and data can be exported for analysis in third party applications, such as LabView, Matlab or Excel. The BioCapture system is suitable for a number biomedical research applications.

CleveLabs is a laboratory course system that uses the same data acquisition device as BioCapture, the BioRadio. The software is different, in that it is tailored toward students as a laboratory teaching system focusing on engineering, physiology and clinical applications. Biomedical engineering, physiology, electrical & computer engineering and other departments can benefit from this technology. The system is very flexible and can be used in biomedical engineering labs and classrooms, biomedical research applications, physiology labs and research, and more.

KinetiSense is a wireless data acquisition system that measures three dimensional motion using accelerometers and gyroscopes. Linear acceleration and angular velocity are measured from different portions of the body and data is transmitted to a received connected to a nearby PC. The software displays and stores the data and some analysis features are included. An export utility is also included for easy export for custom analysis applications using programs such as LabView, Matlab or Excel.

CleveMed is pleased to announce a new partnership with Emona Instruments as the Australian and New Zealand distributor of the CleveLabs laboratory course system.

Emona Instruments was established in 1979 as an importer and distributor of electronic test equipment. Their current product catalog includes electronic and electrical test and measuring instruments and engineering teaching equipment which makes them the ideal distributor for our biomedical engineering teaching equipment. Emona Instruments is established as one of Australia’s leading instrumentation and teaching equipment suppliers to industry, education, defense and government customers.

With the growth of biomedical engineering and biomedical engineering subjects in electrical and mechanical engineering, there is a real need for biomedical teaching and research equipment that meets the specific needs of engineering teaching departments.

CleveLabs is a laboratory course system that uses wireless state of the art physiological monitoring equipment with interactive software to teach engineering, physiology and clinical applications. Expanding the market to Australia and New Zealand opens up many new avenues for CleveMed and Emona Instruments.

For more information on CleveMed, please visit www.CleveMed.com. For more information on Emona Instruments, please visit www.emona.com.au