Advantageous use of measure systems with combined analog input and output facilities in practical education

Abstract

A typical experimental setup, as it is often used in undergraduate practical education in neurophysiology and others, consists of at least three separate parts: an electrical output device (e.g. a pulse generator), the biological test object to be measured and an electrical input device (e.g. a chart writer). In this paper, a method is described how the output and input devices can be combined in one single computer based measure system, the problems which arise with this system are listed, and solutions to these problems are given. The computer in combination with a plug-in board capable of analog–digital and digital–analog conversions, can replace the pulse generator and all kinds of chart writers. The advantages are: (1) omitting one of the three devices reduces costs for buying and maintaining; (2) a generalized user interface enables students to work autonomously and fast; and (3) a computer based output is open to a wide variety of signal shapes. A solution how the user interfaces are designed advantageously is presented. Disadvantages may be (1) software that runs the system has to be written or purchased; and (2) depending on the hardware used, restrictions in time and/or amplitude resolution apply. A set of five different methods are presented explaining how these disadvantages can be overcome. The evaluation of the system with three different groups of test persons is presented to show its advantages.