Active Implantable Biomedical Microsystems

Active Implantable Biomedical Microsystems (AIBM) in the human body are now becoming more widely acceptable and available since the development of cardiac pacemakers. Today, miniaturized wireless implantable systems are changing the face of biomedical research and clinical practices through the development of cochlear implants, neuroprostheses, brain computer interfaces, deep organ pressure sensors, precise drug delivery units, bioelectronic medicine and electroceuticals. With a greater life expectancy and an increasing demand for medical healthcare to guarantee a sufficient health-related quality of life, there is a greater demand on technology and electrical and biomedical engineers to develop active implantable systems for a wide variety of medical diagnostics, treatments and therapies.

This course provides a background on the application of AIBMs, an introduction to the latest techniques used and examples of existing medical devices. It can be used as a guide to the design of AIBMs and also as a reference for existing medical devices. The course is aimed at MSc students in Electrical Engineering (tracks Microelectronics, and SignalsenSystems) and in Biomedical Engineering (track Medical Devices) who have an interest in the research and design of AIBMs.

The following topics are treated:

1. Electrophysiology

2. Electrodes, optodes, sensors and actuators

3. Electrode characterization and modeling

4. Electronic system design

5. Stimulation electronics

6. Front-end electronics (signal conditioning, amplifiers, filters, ADCs, DACs, etc.)

7. Wireless data transfer

8. Energy harvesting and power delivery

9. Applications: cochlear implants and cardiac pacemakers

10. Digital design

11. Biocompatibility, materials and fabrication considerations

12. Assembly, system integration and packaging

13. Application: spinal cord stimulator

14. Reliability and security

15. Risk management and/or 16. Ethics