Abstract - in the present work, the design, the testing and the implementations of a biodegradable and biocompatible capacitive barometric endoradiosonde to be swallowed or implanted in the human body is reported. The biodegradable requirement has been achieved exploiting Polycaprolactone (biodegradable polymer - PCL) and the technique of printing thin gold films on it (200-400 nm thick). The overall system is a hysteresis comparator whose oscillation frequency depend on a pressure sensitive capacitor. The final implementation fully satisfies the requirements of small size (9.5 x 4.5mm), biocompatibility and biodegradability (PCL used as substrate), high speed (steady fosc=4.89 MHz), high frequency sensitivity (-0.548 MHz/kPa). Index Terms— Biotelemetry, endoradiosonde, bioenginee

The subject of the present work is the design, the testing and the implementation of a biodegradable and biocompatible pressure sensor that can be swallowed or implanted in the human body. It has to be biodegradable, at least in part, biocompatible and small in the size. The biodegradable polymer used (Polycaprolactone, PCL) and the technique of printing gold (200-400 nm thick) on it have played a key role throughout the project. PCL was used both as substrate, on which all connections for discrete surface mount devices were printed, and for fabricating the pressure sensitive devices. A possible implementation for gastroenterology is presented. The final implementation fully satisfies the design specifications of biodegradability and biocompatibility, high operating frequency, high frequency sensitivity to changes in capacitance and size minimization.

An RFID reader collecting neural data from implanted electrodes of an electro-corticography ECoG system is proposed. The system also is able to power an implant using a class E power amplifier (PA) while it receives data by an asynchronous demodulation. A standard 65nm CMOS TSMC technology is used. Simulations reveal an average power consumption of the overall system of 19 mW with on a 1.2V supply a 300MHz carrier frequency. The data transmission is 1MHz and a bit error rate (BER) of 0.3% is evaluated

The possibility to use an electrical model empirically tuned with the probe impedance detected by in vivo measurements for intracortical signal monitoring is here described. The proposed model allows to make a reliable pre-amplification stage design that can follow the changes in the probe impedance after its implant for a long term recording. Here simulation results are compared with in vivo measurements and the possibility to adapt empirically the model looks promising and gives space for further investigations.

A low power smart temperature sensor followed by an SC amplifier and a 12bit Successive-Approximation analogue-digital converter (ADC) to compensate temperature deviation in drug electrochemical detection, is here presented. The proposed design is accurate within 0.1°C over the temperature range of -55°C to 125°C. A PTAT voltage is used for temperature monitoring. The succeeding ADC digitizes the output with a bit-clock of 50-kHz. The ADC has a Figure-of-Merit of 66 fJ/conversion-step. The system is implemented in an NXP CMOS 0.14μm technology. The die area is 0.21 mm2 and the whole system consumes less than 16μW for 1.2V of voltage supply.

A low power temperature sensor followed by a switched capacitor amplifier, a buffer stage, and a 12-bit successive approximation analogue-to-digital converter (ADC) for autonomous multi-sensor systems is presented. The proposed design is accurate within 0.01 °C from −55 °C to 125 °C. A proportional to absolute temperature source was used as a temperature sensor. The read-out enables a differential reading of a reference and actual temperature. The subsequent ADC digitizes the output signal. The ADC has a figure-of-merit of 66 fJ/conversion-step at a bit-clock of 50 kHz. The system is implemented in an NXP CMOS 0.14-μm technology. The die area is 0.27 mm2, and the whole system consumes less than 16 μW. Design and measurements are presented.

A low power smart temperature sensor followed by an SC amplifier, buffer stage and a 12bit Successive-Approximation analogue-digital converter (ADC) for autonomous multi-sensor systems is presented. The proposed design is accurate within 0.1C over the temperature range of 55°C to 125°C. A PTAT source like the one presented in [1] was used as a high accuracy temperature sensor. The read-out enables a differential reading of the reference and actual temperature. The succeeding ADC digitizes the output with a bit-clock of 50-kHz. The power consumption with a 1.2V supply is 0.1μW. The ADC has a Figure-of-Merit of 66 fJ/conversion-step. The whole system is implemented in the NXP CMOS 0.14m technology. The die area is 0.27 mmp2 and the whole system consumes less than 16μW.

Nowadays, two of the most compelling challenges in the field of food safety and certification are the reduction of the multitude of food losses and wastes in the supply chain and the improvement of certification and monitoring procedures during each stage of production. The aim of this paper is to propose an effective solution to both problems: a wireless sensor network (WSN) combined with a further data processing for real-time monitoring and shelf life prediction.

This position paper aims to support a control technique in the perishables goods supply-chain through a combination of real-time wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring and further data processing to predict the shelf life of the product. This approach returns a low cost, versatile and efficient tool that can significantly improve the safety and food certification, as well as the organoleptic qualities. In this article, therefore, is explained the proposed and supported technique, highlighting its advantages and presenting a case study.

This paper describes an electrochemical biosensor for molecules for personalized medicine including pH and temperature shift monitoring system. Electrochemical sensors based on the cytochromes P450 detect the large majority of drugs commonly used in pharmacological treatments. The same cytochrome detects different drugs at different electrochemical interface potentials. Therefore, the potential encodes the drug type meanwhile current encodes drug concentration. However, potential and current depend on pH variations that might occur in the patient sample. This paper presents evidence of these variations and proposes a novel design for multiplexing the bio-sensing with a new pH and temperature control system.

The developments in micro-nano-electronics, biology and neuro-sciences make possible interfaces between the human brain and the environment. Implantable and smart microprobes have been proposed that are able to transmit neural data at the outside world in RFID mode. In this paper a high resolution RFID reader, collecting neural data from implanted electrodes while powering the tag is proposed. The system gives power to the implanted tag, using a class E power amplifier (PA) and in between receives the data by an asynchronous demodulation. The technology used is a standard 65 nm CMOS TSMC. Simulations shown here, reveal an average power consumption of the overall system of 65 mW with a supply of 1.2 V and a BER less than 10-5.

A high resolution RFID reader, collecting neural data from implanted electrodes is proposed. The system is powering the implant using a class E power amplifier (PA) and in between receives the data by an asynchronous demodulation. The technology used is a standard 65 nm CMOS TSMC. Simulations reveal an average power consumption of the overall system of 19 mW with a supply of 1.2 V at 300 MHz of carrier frequency and a BER of 0.3%.

This position paper aims to support a control technique in the perishables goods supply-chain through a combination of near real-time wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring and further data processing to predict the shelf life of the product. This approach returns a low cost, versatile and efficient tool that can significantly improve the safety and food certification through the organoleptic qualities control using three different sensors, i.e. temperature, light and humidity. In this article, therefore, the advantages of the proposed technique are explained and a case study is presented to support this approach, as well as an example of processing algorithm for shelf life evaluation.