Feb 28 2011
IMEC, Holst Centre and NXP displayed the CoolBio, a multiple-use low power biomedical signal processor, at the International Solid-State Circuit Conference (ISSCC2011) recently.
The device utilizes 13pJ/cycle during a complicated ECG algorithm at 1MHz and 0.4V. A high separation of multiple voltage power, clock and memory ensure high energy efficiency from standby to 100MHz. The design and circuitry operate at near-threshold voltage from 0.4 to 1.2V at low operating frequencies.
Smart body area networks (BANs) having wireless sensors nodes that can monitor the heart, muscles and brain will provide cost -effective, user friendly and comfortable patient care solutions. They will facilitate patient monitoring even in the privacy of their homes. Efforts are on to make the BANs so power- efficient that they could be fueled only by energy harvesting or a micro battery that is long lasting.
The CoolBio ensures low power consumption. The system detects, records and transmits all the data within itself, ensuring very low power consumption, but enhances flexibility of movement and better diagnostics.
Source: http://www.imec.org/