Ultrasound Medical Diagnostics Laboratory for Remote Learning in EVICAB*Campus

∗ EVICAB (European Virtual Campus for Biomedical Engineering) project is funded by the European Commission under the program Education and Training; http://www.evicab.eu/. AbstractThe aim of this paper is to present the development of remote learning laboratory for ultrasound medical diagnostics. We demonstrate the implementation of such laboratory using virtual instrument that is built by using standard PC, ultrasonic transducer with tissue like phantom, digitizer (Picoscope ADC 212/100, Picotech Ltd.), function generator (Hameg HM8131-2, Hameg Instruments GmbH) and popular software package LabView (National Instruments Inc.). By controlling the virtual instrument it is possible to excite and receive ultrasound waves in pulse echo mode then process the received echographic signal and get the characteristics of tissue like phantom. The tissue like phantom is characterized with thickness and density also with the speed of waves propagation and attenuation coefficient. The students are motivated by the assignment of the clear task to identify the material from which the phantom is made. The implemented virtual instrument is based on NI Remote panel technology. This technology allows to access the virtual instrument remotely using internet browse. The lab preparation materials: goal, theory, quizzes are available from e-learning platform Moodle. We expect the students will improve their knowledge of ultrasound tissue characterization using our remote hands-on labwork.