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Vital signs monitoring shirt lowers cost of medical diagnoses

18 Oct '12

2 min read

Maxim Integrated Products Inc announces a new vital signs monitoring shirt that enables medical professionals to perform frequent and less costly fitness monitoring that will lead to more effective preventive medical care. The highly integrated shirt measures 3-lead ECG, body temperature, and motion. All diagnostic tools are packaged in a shirt that is comfortable to wear.

The new "Fit" shirt integrates dry ECG sensor technology, complex signal processing technology, temperature sensor, motion sensor, an ultra-low-power microcontroller, and wireless electronics. The design is the result of the combined experience, expertise, and inventive synergies from three collaborating companies, Maxim Integrated, Clearbridge VitalSigns, and Orbital Research. The shirt represents a new era in preventive medical care that could reduce health care costs by up to 10x.

Key Contributions from Maxim
• The ultra-low power MAXQ622 microcontroller for easy-to-use and easy-to-program interfacing of multiple technologies.
• The MAX8671 power-management IC that delivers quiet supplies and efficient switching to the various sensors.
• The MAX6656 ultra-low-power temperature sensor that enables plug-and-play integration into the system.
• The MAX3204 USB protector that ensures safe handling and removed shock and ESD hazard from the electronics.

Key Contributions from Clearbridge VitalSigns
• The ultra-low-power, multichannel CBVS1202 ECG-on-a-chip for an extended period of 3-lead ECG data acquisition.
• Clearbridge VitalSign's advanced motion artifact rejection algorithms effectively separates the ECG signal from the noise. This solves the mechanical challenges of making the shirt comfortable for almost any shaped wearer while ensuring good electrode placement and good quality signals.
• Clearbridge VitalSign's innovative 3-lead ultra-thin CardioLeaf housing design
• Fully integrated GUI application on desktop and mobile device.

Patented and FDA cleared dry electrodes enable the capture of all the nuances of ECG waveform morphology with no discomfort to the wearer of the shirt. The dry electrodes do not require skin preparation or adhesives which allows reading continuous clinical-grade ECG signals from the host wearer for extended periods of wear.

Maxim Integrated Products Inc