Demystifying biomedical signals: a student centred approach to learning signal processing

The processing and analysis of physiological signals has become firmly established in clinical medicine and biomedical research. Many of the users of this technology however do not come from an engineering or science background, and traditional approaches in teaching signal processing are thus not appropriate for them. We have therefore developed a series of modular courses that are aimed specifically at an audience with a background in medicine, health-care or the life-sciences. In these courses, we focus on the concepts, principles and rationale of applying signal processing methods, rather than the mathematical foundations of the techniques. Thus, we aim to remove some of the perceived 'mystery' often surrounding this subject. The very practical approach, with hands-on experience using the MATLAB software, has been well received, with strong evidence that students have learnt to apply their knowledge. This paper describes the learning and teaching approach taken, and some of the experience acquired.