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Microelectronics meets bioelectronics

Ing. Andrea Lorenzo Vitali
STMicroelectronics, Agrate Brianza

15 hours, 4 credits

September 14 - September 17, 2010

Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione: Elettronica, Informatica, Telecomunicazioni, via Caruso, meeting room, ground floor

Contacts: Prof. Luca Fanucci

Aims

Today, microelectronics lets you build wearable and intelligent devices with a design that is miniaturized and robust. They can be used to detect biological signals and extract biological parameters from these signals. Since two years, STMicroelectronics has been developing a prototype with several miniaturized sensors and a microcontroller: an electronic patch named BodyGateWay.

This electronic patch can be used for long-term monitoring of multiple parameters. It enables early warnings based on detection of rare but significant anomalous events. Also it enables statistical analysis and medical research, such as the verification of long-term effects of therapy and medications. Finally it can be used on healthy subjects to make training easy and efficient.

Syllabus

Remote monitoring: wearable sensors and systems, design space exploration (performance and low-power), communication systems and protocols (Bluetooth vs Zigbee), networks (Google Health, Microsoft Health Vault)
Electric system for electrocardiogram and bio-impedance detection; heart and respiratory rate estimation, heart beat classification, non-invasive glucose level estimation
Inertial system for linear and angular acceleration detection; body position and activity estimation, methabolic activity estimation, step counter
Optical system for photoplethysmography, standard LED+photodiode sensor vs. low-cost LED+CMOS camera sensor; real-time processing with FPGA and software processing for heart rate estimation, oxygen saturation estimation
Acoustic system for phonocardiogram detection, standard microphone sensors (condenser, piezo) vs. arrays of new sensors (MEMS microphones and accelerometers); heart rate estimation, coughs detection, murmurs classification, non-invasive blood pressure estimation
Temperature system for skin temperature and heat flux estimation; processing for core temperature estimation, methabolic activity estimation
Ambient sensors system for light, sound, pressure, temperature, toxic gas detection; data fusion with data coming from the body sensor system and with data coming from other sources (scale, cuff, etc)