Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
A.1.2 Using MATLAB
MATLAB is a program that evaluates mathematical expressions, plots results, and comes
with a wide assortment of toolboxes (applications) for various engineering fields. The tool-
boxes include neural networks, imaging, digital signal processing, control theory, linear
algebra, signals and systems, numerical methods, symbolic math, and SIMULINK. SIMU-
LINK provides an iterative solution (i.e., an approximation) to very complex differential-
integral equations. The plotting capabilities of MATLAB are sufficient for most work. For
more sophisticated or professional plotting, output from MATLAB can be exported into
Microsoft
W
EXCEL.
The material presented here is a very brief introduction to MATLAB. Readers interested
in learning more about the program should look in the library and bookstores to find many
topics on this powerful program.
GETTING STARTED
To begin a MATLAB session in Microsoft Windows, click “Start”, “Programs”, the folder
“MATLAB”, and then the program “MATLAB”. A command window opens with three
parts as shown in Figure A.1.
Our work at this stage is done in the MATLAB Command Window on the right side of
Figure A.1. To begin, we start typing in the Command Window after the “
”. Text can be
typed interactively with MATLAB executing the command after a carriage return (called
CR hereafter) by clicking the “Enter” key. Keep in mind that MATLAB differentiates
>>
FIGURE A.1
MATLAB program with three windows. (1) Launch Pad Window, (2) Command Window, and
(3) Command History.
