A first lab in filter design: Power line hum suppression in an ECG signal

Our introductory course in Signals and Systems at UC Berkeley assumes only basic physics and moderate fluency with calculus. We outline a computer laboratory project to illustrate how we bring the principles and techniques of design-oriented analysis-as well as meaningful, interesting applications-within the reach of our students. In particular, we describe a guided filter design problem to remove a 60 Hz power line hum from an electrocardiogram (ECG) signal.