Imec reveals 20?W intra-cardiac signal processing IC

Imec has developed a low-power, intra-cardiac signal processing chip for the detection of ventricular fibrillation. Aimed at next-generation cardiac resynchronisation therapy solutions, the chip claims to deliver innovative signal processing functionalities and uses only 20?W when all channels are active, enabling the miniaturisation of implantable devices.

Imec's low-power IC features three power-efficient, intra-cardiac signal readout channels (or in short: ECG channels). Each of the three ECG channels is equipped with a precision ECG signal readout circuit with very low-power consumption and an analogue signal processor to extract the features of the ECG signal for detection of ventricular fibrillation. The feature extractor achieves only 2ms latency to facilitate responsive cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

Additionally, the chip includes unique features that improve the functionality of cardiac resynchronisation therapy devices, said Imec. First, the low-power accelerometer readout channel enables rate adaptive pacing. Secondly, to handle intra-thoracic fluid analysis, the chip includes a 16-level digital sinusoidal current generator and provides 82db wide dynamic range bio-impedance measurement, in the range of 0.1Ω-4.4kΩ with 35mΩ resolution, and touts best-in-class accuracy.