In the current medical industry, the application of integrated circuit (IC) technology has become the core force driving the innovation and development of medical equipment. As the requirements for high performance and high reliability in the medical electronics field continue to increase, especially in the face of the growing demand for home medical services and the popularity of wearable medical monitoring equipment, the boundaries between the traditional consumer electronics field and medical electronic equipment Starting to blur. The demand for integrated circuits in the medical industry far exceeds the requirements for chips in general consumer electronics products, including but not limited to the requirements for cost, accuracy, reliability and high-quality component and system design.
The application of integrated circuits in medical equipment can be divided into two categories: digital integrated circuits and analog integrated circuits. The application of these two types of ICs in the medical field covers many aspects, from basic data processing to complex signal conversion. The main advantage of digital integrated circuits, such as microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), various types of memories (including random access memory RAM, read-only memory ROM and flash memory) and digital application-specific integrated circuits ASIC, is that they can extremely Greatly improve the integration level and processing capabilities of the circuit. In contrast, analog integrated circuits are used in operational amplifiers, linear regulators, phase-locked loops, oscillators, and active filters. The focus is on the physical characteristics of semiconductor devices, such as gain, matching, power dissipation, and resistance. Ensure fidelity during amplification and filtering of analog signals.
Almost all types of chips in medical equipment, from micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), digital signal processors (DSP) to FPGAs, etc., are constantly being developed and applied to meet the requirements of built-in security. ASIC, as an integrated circuit that can be customized according to specific needs, has been widely used in the field of medical equipment. Examples of applications include, but are not limited to, X-ray counting ICs in computed tomography scanners, digital ICs in hearing aids (containing microcontroller μC, digital signal processor DSP and audio engine), and mixed-signal ICs (integrated analog- Digital converter ADC, digital-to-analog converter DAC, microphone interface IF, power management and other support functions), as well as NFC reading technology for continuous temperature monitoring, these are used in fields such as medical monitoring, pregnancy management and medical supplies transportation plays an important role.
In the rapidly changing field of medical technology, FPGAs and programmable system-on-chip (SoC) are widely used due to their programmability and "advance with the times" characteristics. These technologies are used not only in medical ultrasound, digital X-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) equipment, but also in diagnostic, surgical and other clinical equipment. These applications demonstrate the flexibility and efficiency of FPGAs and SoCs in adapting to the needs of medical devices.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the application prospects of three-dimensional integrated circuit (3D-IC) technology in the field of medical electronics. 3D-IC not only saves space but also improves performance by integrating different processing, storage, radio frequency, sensor and other functional modules on multi-layer stacked silicon chips and interconnecting them through connection technologies such as through-silicon vias. This technology has become an important direction in medical device design due to its strict requirements on form factor, power consumption, thermal management and electromagnetic compatibility. Although the size of the medical electronics market is not as large as that of the consumer electronics market, as the global population ages, the development potential of the medical electronics market cannot be underestimated, and innovation in integrated circuit technology will continue to promote the development of this field.