Data Acquisition Using WINDAQ/200

     Throughout the semester you will record several types of data, e.g., heart rate, blood pressure (BP), the force of muscle contractions.  To accomplish these tasks, you will utilize various transducers that convert the mechanical forces involved in BP or muscle contraction into a voltage signal that enters the computer.  The recorded data is saved on the computer as a file that may be replayed and analyzed.  Thus several things must be taken into consideration before you begin to accumulate data.
 

Introduction:  Recording Parameters

Starting WINDAQ:  From the desktop, select the WINDAQ/200 Data Acquisition Program icon.  Once the program is running, you may use the familiar Windows arrows to maximize/minimize the open window.  You may also click and drag within the title bar to position the window any place on the screen.  Clicking and dragging an edge or corner also expands or shrinks the size of the window.

Status and Annotation Bars:  The Status bar at the top of the screen (below the menu choices) displays the settings of all current data acquisition parameters and what % of the data file is filled.  Double clicking the MODE field toggles between the scroll and oscilloscope modes.  Double click the CHANNELS and COMPRESSION fields and examine the results.

The bottom STATUS bar indicates the equivalent per channel sampling rate (sampling rate divided by the # of channels), the time per grid division, and the operating mode (SET - UP, RECORD, STD BY). You can change the sampling rate in the pull down menu. Remember it is determined by samples per second per channel. When would you want to use a slower sampling rate? A higher one?

The Left or Right annotation bars indicate the value of the trace (if the cursor is on, it = the value at the cursor; if it is off, it = the value at right edge of screen), the ± full scale values of the channels as traced, and the channels being used.

A full list of the menu functions is given on the next two pages.  Relax!!!  You will not be expected to remember more than two or three of the listed settings.  In fact, you will only use a total of six or seven of them during any given experiment.

Number of Channels:  In the Bsci 441 experiments, you will first determine how many signals to record.  The WINDAQ program can record up to 16 different signals at once.  Mercifully, you will only need to record a maximum of 2!  Your first decision is how many to channels or signals will be required.  Thus you will place the required number of data channels or traces on the screen when you begin (see below). For our purposes, this will = 1 or 2. To add a channel, click  on “channels” at the top of the screen, then “+” and the number of the channel that you wish to add”. To remove a channel, click “-“ and the channel that you wish to remove”. The numbers to the left and right of the screen indicate which channels are in use. They only refer to the channels on the gray A-D (audio-digital) boxes, labeled 0,1, 2. That means your first channel in the Windaq program may read 1=0. That is the first channel is 0 on the A-D box and 2=1 means the second channel is 1 on the A-D box.
 

Sampling Rate:  Next you must decide how many data points or samples per second you want to record.  Each sample takes up computer disk space, so the trick is to utilize a sampling rate that is high enough to give an accurate representation of the data without using up the disk space too rapidly.  For example, the activity of a slowly contracting section of ileum muscle can be recorded accurately at 20-50 samples/sec while blood pressure recording may require 100 samples/sec.  In the previous example, the blood pressure recording will fill up the data file 5 times faster than the muscle contractions.  You will be instructed as to the correct sampling rate to choose in each experiment.

Channel Scale:  The transducer converts each type of data signal to a voltage.  Depending upon the amplitude of the signal and the gain or amplification of the recording equipment, you must fit the recorded data trace into the screen.  To do this, you will select a channel scale or range.  This may vary from mV to ± 5 volts.  There is no real trick to this; you simply look at the data and change the scale (and possibly of the amplifier too!!!) to accommodate the full range of data signal, i.e., be sure it all fits on the screen.

Data Files:  All data will be recorded onto the computer's hard drive.  You may then copy it onto your own diskette as a backup if you wish.  You must give your data file a name that both tells you what is in the file and allows you to find it among the other files from other investigators.  Your TA will give you directions for naming the files. (Hint: always use a name that ends in “.wdq” to signify that it is a windaq file.

An Important Consideration:  All of the above items must be specified before you begin to record data.  Once you start to record data, you will not be able to change some of the above parameters unless you begin a new data file, change the settings,  and start recording again.
 

Running WINDAQ:  A Fast Start Introduction

WINDAQ runs in Windows 95.  Go to the desktop and using the left mouse button, double click the WINDAQ/200 Data Acquisition icon.  Alternately, your TA may give you a specific WINDAQ file to open.  This file will have the variables discussed above already set.  Be sure to write them down into your lab manual.

When the program begins:

1.     Choose # of channels... from the Edit menu at the top of the screen.  The possibilities are listed in TABLE 1.  Note that you may also use the ALT + # key combinations (simultaneously press both keys at once) to do the same thing.  For a first experiment, select format 1, one full screen window.  Feel free to try others and see what the trace looks like.

2.     Choose a sampling rate...from the Edit menu specify how fast to sample the signal (samples/sec).  For the first exercise select 10s/s/channel. You should also change the size of the file to expand the amount of recording time. You can expand the file size up to 5000 kbytes.

3.     Choose Open...from the File menu and assign a file name.  Your TA will give you the details on this operation.  Please use only approved file names and disk directories or your data may be lost in the maze of thousands of files. All Windaq files should end in “.wdq”.

4.     Examine a signal.  Look at the data coming across the screen.  As the amplitude changes, is all of the trace contained in the window?  If not, you must either move the data into the window and/or decrease the gain on the amplifier or the channel scale.  First, use the left mouse button (click and hold) to drag a rectangle through any part of the data that is in the window (on the screen).  Release the mouse button and the rectangle remains on the screen.  Place the cursor or arrow on the screen within the rectangle, hold down the left mouse button and drag the rectangle into the center of the data window.  When you release the mouse button, the data magically repositions itself inside the rectangle in the center of your window!

5.     Choose Record... from the File menu to start acquiring the data on the disk.  A simpler way to start the recording procedure is to hit the F4 key.  To stop recording, again select Stop from the File menu at the top of the screen or simultaneously hit the ALT + F4 keys.  Don't let the record function run if you don't need the data!  If you do, your file will fill up with useless data in a big hurry. One command that you should become very familiar with is the insertion of commented event markers. You may use the pull-down menu or toggle command to insert a labeled marker in order to indicate the beginning of a specified experiment. Note that you must be recording first, before you insert the event marker.

6.     When you have finished recording data, close the data acquisition program. Then, go to the appropriate shortcut on the desktop for your lab day and time. Click on the shortcut and find the file that you just created. Drag it to the Windaq 200 Data Playback icon. Your data should appear on the screen.

7.     Use the arrows at the bottom of the screen to scroll through your data. You should be able to pull up the list of your commented event markers and then click on any of them in order to locate those events in your file. You should be able to find peaks and valleys on any given screen. You should be able to place the cursor at any given point in your data trace and observe its value. You should be able to convert the time scale at the bottom of the screen (i.e. the x-axis) to determine the amount of time required for any given event or trace.