A 16-channel ASIC for in-vivo measurement of pancreatic beta-cell activity and FOPP detection

This paper presents a 16-channel sensor ASIC for a biomedical implant for the monitoring of pancreatic beta-cell activity and the detection of the fraction of plateau phase (FOPP). The aim is to better understand type 2 diabetes mellitus with the goal of developing new therapies. To achieve this, the ASIC presents a unique solution by combining low-power and long-term monitoring with high-precision measurement of the electrical activity of the beta-cells. In the direct readout mode, the entire signal is captured using the on-chip 10-bit analog-to-digital converter. In the FOPP mode, a simple yet effective detection scheme using signal comparators is presented. The chip was designed and fabricated in the XFAB XH035 CMOS technology. Experimental results validate the concept and show good operation for all 16 channels over a range of frequencies between 1 Hz to 1 kHz.