Originally Published EMDM March/April 2005
Technology News
Single-Chip Wireless Platform Designed for Med-Tech Products |
| Suited for integration with implantable products, a radio architecture combines low power requirements with wireless communication capabilities. |
Control and communications radio architecture developed by an engineering and consulting firm is suited for use with implants and other medical products. Introduced by Cambridge Consultants (Cambridge, UK), SubQore is designed for system-on-chip integration. The wireless platform operates on the Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) frequency, which is emerging as the global medical band standard.
The implantable device market is projected to grow at double-digit rates through 2007, according to industry analysts. The advent of wireless communications has added a new dimension to this sector, says Richard Traherne, head of Cambridge Consultants wireless business unit.
“Advances in electronics technology are [driving] a host of new implantable applications,” explains Traherne. SubQore’s design, he adds, draws on three trends: very low power consumption, smarter performance, and miniaturization. “Combined with the opportunities offered by the MICS frequency, we see great demand for a single-chip wireless platform [suited] for mass-volume medical products.”
Low power consumption was a key factor in the design of SubQore. It consumes an average current of less than 1 µA (1.7 mA peak) for a 0.05% duty cycle and 400-kb/sec bidirectional communications rate. In a typical pacemaker, the unit would deliver more than 10 years of activity from a lithium cell, notes the consultancy, yet the device is equally capable of transmitting high volumes of data in short bursts. When implanted under the skin, it has a 2-m communications range.
Applications envisaged by Cambridge Communications include implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, remote telemonitors, orthopaedic devices, pump controllers, nerve stimulators, and swallowable diagnostic products. The firm plans to fine-tune the integrated chip core for individual applications.
Copyright ©2005 European Medical Device Manufacturer
