Originally Published EMDM September 2005
Industry News
Transceiver Enables Remote Wireless Monitoring of Medical Electronic ImplantsA transceiver chip now available allows physicians to remotely monitor a patient’s health and implanted device performance without regular hospital visits.
Zarlink Semiconductor (Jarfalla, Sweden) recently introduced the world’s first transceiver chip designed for wireless communications between medical implants and base stations. Applications include implanted pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators, and blood glucose sensors.
An ultra-low-power RF transceiver can be embedded in a pacemaker, for example, to wirelessly send patient health and device performance data to a bedside base station in the home. Data can then be forwarded over the telephone or Internet to a physician’s office. If a problem is detected, the patient can go to the hospital, where the two-way RF link can be used to monitor and adjust device performance as necessary.
The ZL70100 chip meets the MIC (Medical Implant Communication) standard defined by the US Federal Communications Commission and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute. Zarlink’s device allows high-speed 500 kb/sec data transmission over a typical 2-m range.
“Zarlink’s MIC transceiver provides several orders of magnitude increase in data transmission rate and communication range compared with previous technologies,” says Steve Swift, senior vice president.
The industrial-grade ZL70100 chip for base stations is the first device in a product platform designed to meet the performance, power, and size requirements of implanted communication systems. Qualification of the same transceiver chip for implantable applications is currently under way, with introduction planned for late 2005.
Available in a 48-pin QFN (quad flat no lead) package and as a bare die, the device is fully supported by an evaluation board and reference design.
For more information, contact Zarlink Semiconductor, P.O. Box 520, Jarfalla S 17526, Sweden; phone: +46 8580 24670; fax: +46 8580 20190; e-mail: corporate@zarlink.com; Internet: www.zarlink.com.
Copyright ©2005 European Medical Device Manufacturer
