In an effort to speed up patient monitoring ultrasound technology, Texas Instruments has introduced a fully integrated analog front ends (AFEs) for the portable and high-end ECG (electrocardiogram) and electroencephalogram (EEG) equipment.

The eight-channel, 24-bit ADS 1298 reduces component count and power consumption to 95 per cent as compared to discrete implementations. With a power efficiency of 1 mW/channel, it allows the radiologists to achieve the highest levels of diagnostic accuracy.

"Until now, high power consumption and bulky designs limited the portability of ECG and EEG equipment," said Art George, senior vice president, High-Performance Analog business unit, Texas Instruments.

With the ADS1298 low power consumption and high integration, manufacturers can develop equipment that are portable, compact and affordable. This will make it easier for doctors to monitor vital parameters over the long term for more accurate clinical data, while increasing patient comfort with devices that can easily be carried or attached to a wheelchair, for instance, he added.

The key benefits of the ADS1298 are that it simplifies design and saves board space, using up to 95 percent fewer components by integrating all common features required for ECG and EEG front ends. It increases equipment portability and improves patient mobility. There is more accurate measurement in portable equipment and high channel-density. It is complementing the analog front end's leading power consumption is the low-power. It offers customers a complete signal chain for ECG and EEG applications to speed their time to market.

The four- and six-channel versions offer equipment designers a migration path to varying resolutions and channel combinations for low-noise medical applications. Some of the patient monitoring applications with portable ultrasound are rest and stress ECG, fetal monitoring, hospital and public access automated external defibrillators (AEDs), consumer medical applications like sports and fitness monitors.