"Introduction to Biomechatronics" is a well-formatted and comprehensive survey of biomechatronic concepts and applications. Biomechatronics is the engineering integration of electronic control and mechanical actuation into biological organisms. Brooker has created a pioneering text that captures the fundamental methods and practical use of biomechatronic technology.
The first half of the book provides the reader with a strong foundation of general concepts and methods for developing biomechatronic systems. Chapter 1 gives an introduction to the field, from both an internal physiological and external interface point of view. Chapter 2 dives into sensors and transducers, which teaches the reader about biometrics and the methods of measuring physiological signals. Chapter 3 details how the use of different actuation technologies provides productive operation of human functions. Chapters 4 and 5 outline the fundamental engineering sciences of feedback and control systems, as well as signal processing, including DSP.
The second half of the book exposes the reader to a variety of practical biomechatronics applications, from historical approaches to the current state of the art. This is where Brooker shines as an expert in the field. He provides a detailed exploration of hearing aids and implants, including bone-anchored hearing aids and middle ear implants. He even tackles the less mature field of sensory substitution, which is an exciting and enlightening subject with tremendous industry potential. Brooker's research into heart and respiratory aids gives the reader thorough insight into human physiology, medical challenges, rehabilitative problems, and assist device technology. The book concludes with a systematic exploration of active and passive prosthetic limbs, including kinematic models, sensing, and actuation.
It is difficult for me to nail down a single favorite part of this book. For those of us already in the field, the first half of the book was a nice review of general mechatronic concepts. However, once Brooker transitioned into the biomedical applications, he had my attention and imagination captured. I enjoyed his mixture of history, physiology, engineering science, and state of the art technology. As a researcher of rehabilitative biomedical technologies, I was especially intrigued by the cardiac and respiratory aids, as well as the prosthetic limbs.
As is, this is a great text for a graduate-level engineering course. I used it as such. If this text gets revised, I would like to see problem sets at the end of each chapter. Brooker gives solid examples throughout the text, but students and instructors alike would benefits from more worked examples and application-level problems or projects.
I chose this book for a graduate level biomechatronics engineering class and I am delighted with it. The students enjoyed the content approach and the graphics throughout the book. Many class discussions were generated by Brooker's insightful topics and examples. This would be a fruitful text for the biomechatronics instructor and student.
"Introduction to Biomechatronics" teaches the reader about the fundamental concepts of biomechatronic technologies and the practical application of biomechatronic systems. Students, instructors, engineers, and those who are interested in biomechatronics at any level will benefit from this book. New students will get an overview of biomechatronic techniques. Biomedical engineers will get a survey of current applications. Readers will grow from Brooker's teaching and learn how to put biomechatronic principles into application.
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Vincent Socci
A Valuable Survey of Biomechatronics Concepts and Systems
Reviewed in the United States on 1 January 2013Verified Purchase
