A 5.2 mW Self-Configured Wearable Body Sensor Network Controller and a 12 μW Wirelessly Powered Sensor for a Continuous Health Monitoring System

Abstract

A self-configured body sensor network controller and a high efficiency wirelessly powered sensor are presented for a wearable, continuous health monitoring system. The sensor chip harvests its power from the surrounding health monitoring band using an Adaptive Threshold Rectifier (ATR) with 54.9% efficiency, and it consumes 12 mu W to implement an electrocardiogram (ECG) analog front-end and an ADC. The ATR is implemented with a standard CMOS process for low cost. The adhesive bandage type sensor patch is composed of the sensor chip, a Planar-Fashionable Circuit Board (P-FCB) inductor, and a pair of dry P-FCB electrodes. The dry P-FCB electrodes enable long term monitoring without skin irritation. The network controller automatically locates the sensor position, configures the sensor type (self-configuration), wirelessly provides power to the configured sensors, and transacts data with only the selected sensors while dissipating 5.2 mW at a single 1.8 V supply. Both the sensor and the health monitoring band are implemented using P-FCB for enhanced wearability and for lower production cost. The sensor chip and the network controller chip occupy 4.8 mm(2) and 15.0 mm(2), respectively, including pads, in standard 0.18 mu m 1P6M CMOS technology.