imec launches ultra low power biomedical signal processor
Nanoelectronics specialist imec has partnered with NXP and Holst centre on an ultra low power biomedical signal processor. Designed to meet the requirements of future wearable biomedical sensor systems, the CoolBio was launched at the International Solid State Circuit Conference yesterday and according to researchers, consumes only 13pJ/cycle when running a complex ECG algorithm at 1MHz and 0.4V operating voltage.
The C programmable chip is voltage and performance scalable and optimised to support a frequency range of 1 to 100MHz with an operating voltage from 0.4 to 1.2V. According to Harmke De Groot, programme director of imec, the processor allows drastic power reduction of the wireless body area network (BAN) sensor nodes which continuously monitor vital body parameters such as heart, muscle and brain activity.
"Processing and compressing data locally on the BAN node limits power hungry transmission of data over the wireless link, while adding motion artifact reduction and smart diagnosis at the same time," he said. "With our key research focus on low power circuit techniques, we succeeded in designing a biomedical processor suitable for future biomedical products, offering an optimised balance between performance and power consumption."
