TI introduces industry’s first single- and dual-channel, 16- and 24-bit ECG/EEG analog front ends

DALLAS (April 4, 2011) – Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NASDQ: TXN) today expanded its award-winning ADS1298 analog front end (AFE) family with five new fully integrated AFEs for portable biopotential measurement applications. The new electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalograph (EEG) AFEs are the first to offer 16- and 24-bit resolution with 1 or 2 channels. The devices cut power consumption by more than 94 percent compared to discrete implementations, while shrinking board space requirements up to 86 percent. These reductions will enable portable medical, sports and fitness equipment that combines long battery life with a form factor that is smaller, lighter and easier to wear. For information or to order samples, visitwww.ti.com/ads1291-pr.

Key features and benefits of the new AFEs:

Reduce board space, system complexity and power consumption: Integrate low-noise programmable gain amplifiers (PGAs), test signals, a right leg drive amplifier, oscillator, voltage reference and lead-off detection function to simplify design, while significantly reducing board space requirements and cutting power consumption to only 335 uW/channel.
Support AAMI, IEC requirements: Feature input-referred noise below 8 uVpp to support Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) end-equipment performance requirements.
Maximize design reuse: Pin compatible, enabling customers to maximize designs across a family of end products.

Typical applications

Common applications for the new AFEs in the ADS1298 family include Holter and fitness heart-rate monitors. Customers can expect the following power and space savings when used in these applications:

A two-channel Holter based on the ADS1292 consumes 94-percent less power while using up to 92-percent less board space and 92-percent fewer components than an equivalent discrete implementation.
When used in a typical fitness heart-rate monitor, the ADS1291 consumes 89-percent less power while using 52-percent less board space and 75-percent fewer components compared to discrete implementations.

Devices in the ADS1298 family integrate all of the key functions needed for these medical and fitness applications, enabling customers to focus development efforts on firmware, FDA approvals, field testing and more, rather than hardware design.

Tools and support

TI offers a variety of tools and support to speed development with the entire ADS1298 family, including an IBIS model to verify board signal integrity requirements and evaluation modules (EVMs) to speed evaluation. EVMs for the new AFEs can be purchased today for $99 and include the following:

ADS1192ECG-FE for evaluating the ADS1191 and ADS1192
ADS1292ECG-FE for evaluating the ADS1291 and ADS1292
ADS1292RECG-FE for evaluating the ADS1291R

Engineers designing with the ADS1298 family can also ask questions and help solve problems in the Precision Analog Data Converter forum in the TI E2E™ Community.

Availability and packaging

The new AFEs are all available in a 7-mm x 7-mm TQFP package. Pricing in 1,000-unit quantities is as follows:

16-bit, 1-channel ADS1191: US$1.50
16-bit, 2-channel ADS1192: US$2.50
24-bit, 1-channel ADS1291: US$2.00
24-bit, 2-channel ADS1292: US$3.50
24-bit, 2-channel ADS1292R with respiration impedance: US$4.50

ADS1298 AFE family

The ADS1298 ECG/EEG AFE family has been honored for its innovative design with prestigious product awards from EDN China, EE Times China, Electronic Design, Electronic Products and EN-Genius. In addition to the new single- and dual-channel, 16- and 24-bit AFEs, the ADS1298 family includes 24-bit, 8-, 6- and 4-channel AFEs for high- and ultra-high performance medical diagnostic and research-grade ECG/EEG equipment and 16-bit, 8-, 6- and 4-channel AFEs for cost-sensitive, high-performance, medium-power-consumption ECG equipment.

Find out more about TI’s ECG/EEG analog front end and medical portfolio at the links below:

Order samples: www.ti.com/ads1291s-pr.
Read the application note, “Improving Common-Mode Rejection Using the Right-Leg Drive Amplifier”:www.ti.com/improving-cmr-appnote-pr
Read the application note, “Respiration Rate Measurement Based on Impedance Pneumography”:www.ti.com/respiration-rate-measurement-appnote-pr
Explore TI’s full portfolio of signal chain, power management and embedded processing solutions for ECG applications: www.ti.com/ecg-pr.
Learn more about TI’s offering for patient monitoring and other medical applications at www.ti.com/patientmonitor-pr.

About medical components from Texas Instruments

TI is helping shape technology to improve the quality and accessibility of medical equipment to revolutionize healthcare in the 21st century and beyond. With its full range of analog and embedded processing products, from building blocks to complete semiconductor solutions, plus systems insight, global support infrastructure, advanced process technology and medical industry involvement, TI is helping make innovative medical electronics more flexible, affordable and accessible. TI’s experience in diverse markets, such as wireless communications, consumer electronics, automotive and aerospace, enables engineers to meet increasing needs for higher speeds, higher precision, lower power and smaller equipment, while maintaining the high standards for quality and reliability that the medical market demands. For more information, please visit http://www.ti.com/medical.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 90,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story. Learn more at www.ti.com.