Microsemi, a company providing semiconductor solutions, has developed a new die packaging technology that will reduce the size of radio modules employed in medical implant devices by 75%.
The innovative packaging has passed an internal quality test comprising mechanical and thermal stressing compliant with MIL-STD-883 test standards characteristic of medical implant devices like cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers, wearable medical devices such as intelligent patches, hearing aids and other biomedical components like drug delivery products and nerve stimulators.
The reduction in radio module size paves the way for miniaturization of medical devices which in turn facilitates minimum invasive procedures for implanting, enhancement in patient comfort and lesser time to recovery. The reduction in size of implant devices not only reduces cost of health care but also offers better mobility for patients.
According to Martin McHugh, Manager for business and technology development of Microsemi’s advanced packaging, the new packaging technology can be incorporated with Microsemi’s popular ultra low power radio frequency transceiver chip, ZL70102 to facilitate wireless healthcare monitoring. McHugh stated that the company will extend the size reduction technique and radio technologies to applications like smart sensors and other applications in which size and weight are considered to be critical aspects.
The ultra low-power ZL70102 transceiver chip from Microsemi supports high data rate RF link for applications involving medical implantable communication, The special design of the chip enables patient health and device performance information to be relayed instantly with minimum impact to the device’s battery life. In addition to implanted medical devices, the chip can be used in base stations.