A Low-Power, Wireless, Capacitive Sensing Frontend Based on a Self-Oscillating Inductive Link

Wireless sensing systems are becoming popular in a range of applications, particularly in the case of biomedical circuits and food monitoring systems. A typical wireless sensing system, however, may require considerable complexity to perform the necessary analog to digital conversion and subsequent wireless transmission. Alternatively, in the case of inductive link based systems, large, manually operated impedance analyzers are required. Based on a detailed analysis of the link impedance, this paper proposes a simple method for wireless capacitive sensing through an inductive link that uses a self-oscillator and a frequency counter. The method enables changes in capacitance to be sensed and wirelessly transmitted simultaneously. In order to test the effectiveness of the method, a self-oscillating circuit was designed and fabricated in 0.18 μm CMOS, and combined with an on-chip humidity sensing capacitor. The system was tested in a humidity chamber across a range of 20-90%rh. Measured results from the system demonstrate that capacitive changes as small as 28 fF, translating to <2%rh, can be resolved, with a power consumption of 1.44 mW.Bio-Electronic

Practical Inductive Link Design for Biomedical Wireless Power Transfer: A Tutorial

Wireless power transfer systems, particularly those based on inductive coupling, provide an increasingly attractive method to safely deliver power to biomedical implants. Although there exists a large body of literature describing the design of inductive links, it generally focuses on single aspects of the design process. There is a variety of approaches, some analytic, some numerical, each with benefits and drawbacks. As a result, undertaking a link design can be a difficult task, particularly for a newcomer to the subject. This tutorial paper reviews and collects the methods and equations that are required to design an inductive link for biomedical wireless power transfer, with a focus on practicality. It introduces and explains the published methods and principles relevant to all aspects of inductive link design, such that no specific prior knowledge of inductive link design is required. These methods are also combined into a software package (the Coupled Coil Configurator), to further simplify the design process. This software is demonstrated with a design example, to serve as a practical illustration.Bio-Electronic

CMOS Image Sensor for Lateral Flow Immunoassay Readers

Point-of-care systems for the detection of infectious diseases are in great demand especially in developing countries. Lateral flow immunoassays are considered ideal biosensors for point-of-care diagnostics due to their numerous advantages. However, to quantify their results a low power, robust electronic reader is needed. A low power CMOS image sensor is presented that can be used in quantitative lateral flow immunoassay readers. It uses a single low power processing capacitive transimpedance amplifier architecture which includes noise cancellation. A chip containing 4 × 64 pixels was fabricated in CMOS 0.35-μm technology. With uniform illumination at 525 nm and 67 frames per second the chip has 1.9 mVrms total output referred noise and a total power consumption of 21 μW. In tests with lateral flow immunoassays the chip detected concentrations of influenza A nucleoprotein from 0.5 ng/mL to 200 ng/mL.Bio-Electronic