The measurement of biomedical signals is exciting and challenging for students of electrical and electronics engineering. This paper presents an experimental practice involving electronics instrumentation in measuring the heart beat. Students learn about electrophysiology, bioelectricity, instrumentation amplifier, and filters. The course is scalable and can provide a module about signal processing. The students are motivated with lab experiment of real-life applications (electrocardiograph) and their enthusiasm enhances their learning.

Sertoli cells are essential for the male reproduction system as they provide morphological support and nutrients for germ cells to guarantee ongoing spermatogenesis. The aim of this work was to predict the electrical properties at the plasma membrane that trigger Sertoli cell rapid responses. The responses of Sertoli cells in culture to hormone stimulation were monitored using patch clamp electrical measurement and compared to data obtained using pharmacological tools. A mathematical model was used to define the roles of potassium channels and the ATP-dependent Na+/K + pump in these responses. Mathematical data verification was also performed to determine the resting and hormonal stimulated membrane potentials of Sertoli cells collected from intact seminiferous tubules and of Sertoli cells in culture. The prediction of these data based on mathematical modeling demonstrated, for the first time, the involvement of potassium channels and the activation of Na+/K + pump in the hyperpolarization of Sertoli cells and their consequent rapid responses. Moreover, the mathematical analysis showing the involvement of ionic balance in the rapid responses of these cells to hormones, such as follicle-stimulating hormone, is consistent with previous reports obtained using pharmacological techniques in Sertoli cells. Thus, the validation of such data is reliable and represents a first step in the proposition for a mathematical model to predict rapid responses of non-excitable cells to hormonal stimuli.