EnSilica has today announced the ENS62020, an ultra-low-power healthcare sensor interface IC for monitoring vital signs in wearable healthcare and medical devices.
The chip, which will be initially available with evaluation boards, has been created to meet the needs of a diverse array of home-use and single-use medical sensors – from oximeters to smart plasters – as well as wearable healthcare sensors and fitness trackers.
The ENS62020 healthcare sensor interface IC supports the accurate and reliable measurement of an array of vital signs. These include ECG, temperature and differential capacitance, as well as optical signals, which are used to track heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), glucose levels and for near-infrared spectroscopy.
EnSilica has stated that due to the size and power-optimised design, the device is ideally suited to disposable medical devices and patches as well as sports and fitness devices. The highly sensitive capacitive sensor interface also makes the device well suited for novel MEMS sensors.
The IC is designed to work alongside an edge processor, or a communication device, and incorporates two photodiode drivers / photodetector readouts; two differential ECG sensor channels suitable for 3-lead ECG with <1.6µVrms noise levels; a highly sensitive capacitive sensor channel; a temperature sensor with <0.15oC resolution (between 35-45oC); a low-power ADC. The device consumes from just ~10µA per sensor.
The device will come in a plastic QFN 32-pin package, with samples available from June, or as part of an evaluation kit with board and demonstration software from July.
Further information on the chip is available for download from the EnSilica 62020 webpage.
