Series in Microelectronics

edited by Wolfgang Fichtner
Qiuting Huang
Heinz Jäckel
Hans Melchior
George S. Moschytz
Gerhard Tröster

Vol. 153

Biopotentials recorded from nerves (ENG) by means of cuff electrodes provide crucial information in fully implantable bioprostheses. The information content and signal quality can be increased by the use of multi-electrode cuffs, which consist of an array of electrodes. Typical signals recorded with this method are extremely small and therefore require low-noise amplification on each of the parallel recording channels. This book is concerned with the design of such a fully integrated analogue multichannel ENG recording system. Special attention is given to the noise optimisation of the preamplifiers in conjunction with the cuff, considering implementations in CMOS as well as BiCMOS technology. The design of the recording channels is discussed including techniques for offset removal and the reduction of muscle interference artefacts. The implementation of a very-large time-constant integrator is described as a key building block for interference removal. Finally, measured data show the application of the system to the extraction of nerve signal velocity and direction from ENG.

Robert Rieger was born in Düsseldorf, Germany, in 1975. He received the intermediate diploma in electrical engineering and the B.Eng. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany, and the University of Kent, U.K., in 1998 and 2000 respectively. He received the Ph.D. degree in electronic and electrical engineering from University College London (UCL), U.K. in 2004. He has been a Research Assistant at UCL in 2001/2002 and at the University of Bath, U.K. in 2003/2004. He is now with the Industry & Medical business unit of austriamicrosystems AG, Rapperswil, Switzerland. His current interests are in the area of low-power and mixed-signal integrated circuits and systems with emphasis on biomedical applications. Dr. Rieger is a member of IEEE and VDE.

Keywords: implantable biomedical circuit, ENG recording, multi-channel, biopotential recording system, nerve cuff electrodes, CMOS/BiCMOS, integrated circuit, low-noise design, multi-electrode cuff (MEC)