Every year, in the United Stated only, about 260 000 people undergo lower-limb amputations. Victhom human bionics, is now well known for having developed the world’s premiere bionic leg. The motorized prosthesis is currently relying on external sensor information.
The NeuroElectronic Sensor, developed by Polystim collaboration with Victhom and aimed at precision control of the bionic leg by lower limbs neural activity inter-pretation, is composed of an external controller and an implantable sensor. In the descending communication direction, the user sets the operation parameters through dedicated software and initiates a programming sequence. Instructions are sent down to the external controller and the implantable sensor through a USB link and the bidirectional RF communication channel. Once setup, the sensor acquires data and returns the requested information upwards.
The mixed-signal implantable part of the system, powered by the inductive RF coupling link, requires miniaturized, reliable and low-power circuitry which must include a low-noise amplifier, filters, a programmable gain OpAmp and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) as well as the digital circuitry needed for control and duplex communication.
Prototypes realized using commercially available components have tested the selected architecture and proven the feasibility of the project while the integration on chip process is under way.
