A Real-Time Vital-Sign Monitoring in the Physical Domain on a Mixed-Signal Reconfigurable Platform.

Area of Science:

• Mixed-signal integrated circuit design
• Biomedical electronics
• Low-power computation

Background:

• Real-time monitoring of vital signs is crucial for patient care.
• Existing systems often face challenges with power consumption and accuracy.
• Field-Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs) offer a promising platform for efficient signal processing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a mixed-signal physical-computation-electronics system for real-time monitoring of heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation.
• To leverage FPAA technology and low-power microcontrollers for energy-efficient vital sign analysis.
• To achieve high accuracy in physiological signal processing and arrhythmia detection.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of computational circuits on a Field-Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) using floating-gate CMOS technology.
• Utilizing an on-chip low-power microcontroller for system programming and vital sign quantification.
• Operating custom physical-computation-electronics in the CMOS subthreshold region for low-level and high-level signal processing.

Main Results:

• Achieved 94.2% sensitivity for ECG R-peak detection and 96.2% sensitivity for arrhythmia detection on the MIT/BIH database.
• Demonstrated average percentage mean errors of 3.75% for R-R duration, 6.27% for systolic blood pressure, and 7.3% for oxygen saturation.
• Reported ultra-low power consumption: 126 nW for ECG, 251 nW for blood pressure, and 1.44 μW for photoplethysmography processing, totaling 1.82 μW.

Conclusions:

• The developed mixed-signal system offers an energy-efficient and accurate solution for multi-vital sign monitoring.
• FPAA-based design enables patient-dependent, real-time physiological data analysis.
• The system's low power consumption makes it suitable for wearable and implantable health monitoring devices.