A major societal challenge for the decades to come will be the delivery of effective
medical services while at the same time curbing the growing cost of healthcare.
It is expected that new concepts-particularly electronically assisted healthcare will
provide an answer. This will include new devices, new medical services as well
as networking. On the device side, impressive innovation has been made possible
by micro- and nanoelectronics or CMOS Integrated Circuits. Even higher accuracy
and smaller form factor combined with reduced cost and increased convenience
of use are enabled by incorporation of CMOS IC design in the realization of biomedical
systems. The compact hearing aid devices and current pacemakers are
good examples of how CMOS ICs bring about these new functionalities and services
in the medical field. Apart from these existing applications, many researchers
are trying to develop new bio-medical solutions such as Artificial Retina, Deep
Brain Stimulation, and Wearable Healthcare Systems. These are possible by combining
the recent advances of bio-medical technology with low power CMOS IC
technology.
