Wearable sensors project for remote healthcare

The partnership between Holst Centre, imec and ZOL aims to speed the development of such systems, while clinicians from ZOL and the Mobile Health Unit (a joint initiative between ZOL and Hasselt University) will test the technologies on patients in clinical settings. This will answer such questions as 'how comfortable are the devices to wear?' and 'can they detect conditions like heart arrhythmias?'. "ZOL and the Mobile Health Unit lead the way in deploying telemonitoring technologies in Belgium," said Julien Penders, program manager at Holst Centre/imec. "They are a natural fit for our vision of wearable health stretching from the hospital to the home. By bringing together two groups who are dedicated to exploring the same questions, but from different and complementary perspectives, we will be better able to proactively address the issues facing healthcare professionals." The partners will also share clinical and technical insights to identify ways in which wearable remote monitoring technology can better address unmet healthcare needs. This will lead to improvements to existing solutions and the development of new applications. Meanwhile, imec and Holst Centre have announced evaluation kits (pictured) for their ultra low power ECG analogue front end chip for ambulatory cardiac monitoring. The front end chip, which consumes 20µW per channel at a supply voltage of 1.2µV, monitors up to three lead ECG signals and tissue contact impedance.