5
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS OF LOW-POWER DIGITAL INTEGRATED SYSTEMS FOR IMPLANTABLE MEDICAL APPLICATIONS
5.1 INTRODUCTION
Implantable medical electronic devices (IMEDs) are implanted into human beings for the purposes of long-term measurement and surveillance of physiological and biochemical parameters within the human body, and are also used for therapy and replacement of disabled organs. Their unique interface with the human body makes it possible to learn more about the natural behavior or function of certain body parts and organs, and to design more effective prosthetic devices. Compared with other medical devices, IMEDs have the following distinct advantages: more accurate and intact measurement [1, 2], long-term monitoring [3–5], direct control of living organs or tissues [6–8], distinct therapeutic capability [9–11], and replacement of lost biological functionality [12–16]. The demand for implantable medical devices is growing every year because of these unique merits. For example, in the United States, the demand will rise 7.7% to $40.2 billion in 2011 [17]. IMEDs are playing an increasingly important role in medical applications. The field of implantable medical electronics has become one of the most important research fields in biomedical engineering.
The unique environment within the human body leads to many challenges and constraints in designing IMEDs, which mainly include limited size and low power. Reducing power consumption ...
