Semiconductors in

Medical Applications
Angelo, Antolin, Arellano, Avila, Catibog, Dufourt

Medical
Applications

Brain Data Collection

Glucose Monitoring
Oxygen Saturation
Auscultation

Brain Data Collection

Brain Computer Interface

a direct communication interface between
an external device and the brain

Brain Computer Interface

directed at augmenting, assisting, or repairing sensory-motor or human
cognitive functions.
combines technologies from the fields of electrical engineering, computer
science, biomedical engineering, and neurosurgery.

 Hans Bergers discovery of electrical activity of brain

Berger invented encephalography (EEG); he was the first
to record human brain activity using that
Bergers first recording device:
Inserted silver wires under the scalps of his patients
Silver foils attached to patients head by rubber
bandages
Sensors:
Lippman capillary electrometer => disappointing
results
Siemens double coil recording galvanometer =>
success
Berger analyzed interrelation of alternations in his EEG
wave diagrams with brain diseases.
HISTORY OF BCI

 Jacques Vidal coined the term BCI

produced the first peer-reviewed BCI
publication
Barack Obama launched the BRAIN Initiative

HISTORY OF BCI

How BCI Works

Major Types of BCI

1. Invasive BCI
More direct signals
Planted within the brains grey matter

2. Non-Invasive BCI
Easier and safer
3. Partially Invasive
Planted within the skull but outside the brain

Challenges of BCI
1. The brain is incredibly complex.
To say that all thoughts or actions are the result of simple electric signals
in the brain is a gross understatement.
2. The signal is weak and prone to interference.
Reading brain signals is like listening to a bad phone connection. There's
lots of static.
3. The equipment is less than portable.

Challenges of BCI
4. Usually invasive
5. Restricted to a small number of cells
6. Suffer from low spatial resolution
7. Lack of an implantable neural interface system that remains viable for a
lifetime
8. Varying distance between electrodes give different electrical activity values of
neurons

Non-Invasive and
Partially Invasive BCIs
Electroencephalography (EEG)
Electrocorticography (ECoG)
Hippocampus cultured in semiconductor chip

Electroencephalogram
EEG is the
electrical brain
activity recorded
from electrodes
placed on the scalp.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)
synchronous activity of thousands of cortical neurons
does not provide detailed information on the activity of
single neurons
characterized by small signal amplitudes (a few Volts) and
noisy measurements

Mechanism of EEG
1. Measurement of minute voltage differences by electrodes
2. Amplification of signals
3. Filtering of signals
4. Interpretation by computer

Electrodes used in EEG

1. Wet Electrodes
Used with a conductive gel and/or abrasive paste
Conductive gel- lowers impedance for efficient charge transduction
Abrasive paste- removes Stratum Corneum

2. Dry Electrodes
May be spiky, non-contact, or heterogeneous

Spiky Dry Electrodes (examples)

Array of Silicon microneedles coated with Ag
Array of Silicon microneedles coated with Ag/AgCl
Multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays
Array of 4x4 microtips on Silicon substrate coated with Iridium oxide
180 conical needles treated with Titanium and Gold

OTHERS
Hippocampus cultured on semiconductor chips
Neural dust

Semiconductor brain: Nerve tissue interfaced with a

computer tissue
Published in 2006 by a group of scientists at the Max-Planck Institute of
Biochemistry
Before, informational input perceived by the mammalian brain is stored in the longterm memory, it is temporarily memorised in the hippocampus.
In this study, a thin slice of a rat hippocampus region is cultivated on a
semiconductor chip with 16, 384 sensory transistors per square millimeter arranged
as a multitransistor array.
The chips are made of silicon which were wire-bonded to standard ceramic
packages.
The chip maps the electrical activity of the neuron.
From this biophysicists were able to visualize the influence of pharmaceutical
compound on the neural network.

NEURAL DUST: The proposed solution

Proposed by a group of researchers in the University of Berkeley
Majority of neural recording is done through the direct electrical
measurement of potential charges near relevant neurons during
depolarization events called action potentials (AP).
Uses a low-power CMOS coupled with ultrasonic harvesting

and backscatter communication to allow it to track and

monitor a brains activity

NEURAL DUST: The proposed solution

Here, thousands of of 10-100 micrometer scale, freefloating, independent sensor nodes containing CMOS
circuits detect and report local extracellular
electrophysiological data
A sub-cranial interrogator that establishes power and
communication links with the neural dust

Glucose Monitoring

DIABETES
Diabetes
Mellitus
is
a
chronic
metabolic disease
that affects the
pancreas' ability to produce or respond to
insulin.
Has 2 types:
Type I: the beta-cells in the
pancreas that produce insulin are
gradually destroyed
Type II: Insulin attaches to the
receptors of cells, but glucose does
not get inside a condition known as
insulin resistance
Over 108 million people in the world
suffer from Diabetes.
Source: https://www.lalpathlabs.com/blog/diabetes/

GLUCOSE MONITORING DEVICE:

Insert photos and stuff
GLUCOMETER
1. Blabla
2. blablabla

Source: http://www.nxp.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/user_guide/MDAPPUSGDRM118.pdf?tid=AMdlDR

What is Glucometer? History

1954: Glucotest/Testape Roll licensed by Eli Lilly to Boehringer
Mannheim

1960s the dipstix: Diastix, Clinistix, Chemstrip uG available

1964: Earnest Adams developed Dextrostix (Ames Miles
Laboratories)

1970: Ames Reflectance Meter (ARM)

1990s to present: Development of Blood Glucose Monitoring

What is Glucometer?
A glucometer is a device for determining the
approximate concentration of glucose in the
blood. It is a key element of home-based blood
glucose monitoring for people with diabetes
mellitus (Type 1 and 2).
Principle behind: Conductivity of blood is
affected by the quantity of glucose present.

What is Glucometer? Parts

Test strip
1. Working electrode - Electrons are produced
here during the chemical reaction. It is
connected to the current to voltage amplifier.
2. Reference electrode - Held at constant
voltage with respect to the working electrode to
push the desired chemical reactions.
3. Counter electrode supplies current to the
working electrode

What is Glucometer? Parts

Blood Glucose Meter
1. Analog to digital converter - Provides the
signal biasing. The ADC outputs specific digital
numbers from voltages (strips).
2. Transimpedance amplifier - Used to convert
the current inputs into voltages that can be read
by the ADC.
3. Operational amplifiers - Compare mode set
for greater than range that initiates the
measurement algorithm. The compare mode set
for inside range easily identifies the peak of
the chemical reaction.

What is Glucometer? How it works

Sample
Mounting

Blood Glucose
Analysis

From the
current

Sample (blood) is placed on the test strip mounted onto the glucometer

From the
amplifiers

What is Glucometer? How it works

Sample
Mounting

Blood Glucose
Analysis

Glucose in the blood undergoes a series of

chemical reactions which then leads to
generation of a current (through the production
during the reaction and flow of electrons) that is
directly proportional to the amount of glucose

From the
current

From the
amplifiers

What is Glucometer? How it works

Sample
Mounting

Blood Glucose
Analysis

From the
current

From the
amplifiers

The electrons flow through the working electrode and into the blood glucose meter.
Current is measured through the internal op amp and the transimpedance amplifier (current to
voltage conversion).

What is Glucometer? How it works

Sample
Mounting

Blood Glucose
Analysis

From the
current

From the
amplifiers

Signals are passed onto the analog to digital converter

From the voltage values, the concentration of glucose is obtained using a regression equation.
The value is then displayed on the LCD.

Oxygen Saturation

OXYGEN SATURATION
Defined as the ratio of oxygenated hemoglobin to the total hemoglobin in the
blood.
95% to 100% saturation is the normal value in humans, while levels below 90%
are considered to be hypoxemic, or abnormally low blood oxygen.
Prolonged low blood oxygen may lead to respiratory or cardiac arrest, making it
necessary to monitor the oxygen saturation of patients in critical condition.

Pulse Oximeter
-

A device used to measure oxygen

saturation by monitoring hemoglobin

Basic components for detection: two

LEDs and a photodiode

How it works:

The LEDs and photodiode are used to sandwich a part of

the skin (usually the earlobe or finger) such that light
travels through the body.

The photodiode is used to measure the intensity and

wavelength of the light passing through the skin.
Deoxygenated hemoglobin and oxygenated hemoglobin
have peak absorptions at 660 nm and 910 nm,
respectively.

The formula R= log(Ia)/log(Ib) where Ia is the intensity at

660 nm and Ib is the intensity at 910 nm is used to
compute for R, the oxygenated hemoglobin level.

Auscultation

Auscultation

Auscultation of Heart
Landmarks

-A medical term for examining

internal sounds of the body
using a stethoscope .

Auscultation Device: Stethoscope

Traditional
Acoustic

Works via transmission of

sounds from a chest piece that
will then flow in the hollow tubes
and then in the listeners ears.

Guided by Doppler Effect

Received acoustic waves are
converted to electrical signals

Digital Stethoscope
- Ultrasonic Probe
Electrical Protection
Signal Conditioning
LCD Display

Thinklabs One Digital

Stethoscope

Digital Stethoscope: How it Works

References
How Stuff Works: Brain Computer Interface http://computer.howstuffworks.com/brain-computerinterface.htm
Dry EEG Electrodes by M. A. Lopez-Gordo, D. Sanchez-Morillo and F. Pelayo Valle (2014)