Integrating physical and virtual reality in biomedical instrumentation design

The Biomedical Instrumentation program at Cal Poly Pomona utilizes the authors´ new Instrumentation and Controls Laboratory where computers, virtual-reality advanced software are combined with hardware in an integrated environment. This environment allows tailoring the laboratory experience to the specific needs of the program, and enhances the effectiveness of course delivery. The usual format of one student one experiment has changed to small teams working on miniprojects intended to analyze, design, build, and test a complete biomedical instrumentation and control system. This paper describes work performed in this laboratory by undergraduate and graduate students during the past two years