Samsung develops ECG monitoring chip for wearables

Samsung has developed a new health-monitoring chip for wearables. Known as Bio Processor, the chip will enable wearable devices to do much more than just counting steps and calories. It is capable of monitoring electrocardiogram or ECG, measuring blood flow rate and checking body fat.

The Bio Processor system consists of an ECG monitoring sensor, an application processor, flash memory and Bluetooth modules. The chip uses Photo PlethysmoGraph to check the rate of blood flow and bacterial inhibition assay to measure body fat. The combination of all three measurements can alert the wearer if anything unusual is suspected. The ECG pattern and other comprehensive data can prove to be very useful for the health care practitioners in examining their illness.

In addition to keeping a watchful eye on the wearer’s health, the Bio Processor can be used in biometrics-based automation. For example, a person wearing an ECG-based bracelet won’t need to enter security passwords to enter his home or office premises as the bracelet is capable of verifying his presence by storing his unique biometric patterns.

Currently the chip is built on a 45nm process, but the company has already started working on a 20nm Bio Processor, which means that the day isn’t far when our mobile phones and tablets will be capable of measuring our ECGs. The 20nm chip will be more suitable for mobile devices because it will drain less battery.

Source: ETNews

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