Journal of Information Technology & Software Engineering
Open Access

Low-power multimedia compression for wearable biosignal transmitter

Global Summit and Expo on Multimedia & Applications

August 10-11, 2015 Birmingham, UK

Robert Rieger

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Inform Tech Soft Engg

Abstract :

Recent advances in wireless technology and multimedia computing enable new generations of wearable systems for the
monitoring of biophysiological parameters including the electric activity of the heart (ECG) and muscle (EMG), as well
as force recordings for application in gait analysis and rehabilitation. Miniaturization of sensors allows the interconnection of
several sensing nodes with associated transmitters to form a body-area-network (BAN) for collecting, processing and streaming
multi-media data from different recording sites on the body. We present a low-power algorithm with low computational
complexity for the compression of biosignals. Sample decimation is guided by the second derivative of the signal as a metric
for signal activity. Here, we describe the implementation of the algorithm on a general purpose microcontroller as part of
the streaming node of a BAN. The algorithm is optimized for low computational complexity and consists of 180 controller
instructions. It incorporates feedback to achieve a targeted compression factor (CF). Simulated and measured results with
different signals confirm that the code achieves a typical CF around 10, needs 137 controller cycles per input sample and
consumes 507 nJ per sample on the prototype hardware. The data buffer is very short (15 samples) to keep the memory
footprint small.

Biography :

Robert Rieger received the PhD degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from University College London (UCL), London, U.K., in 2004. He then joined
the Industry and Medical Business Unit of Austria microsystems AG, Rapperswil, Switzerland, as a Design Engineer involved in the design of robust low-power
integrated circuits. Since 2006 he is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan. He is now a Professor of Electronics
Engineering and the Head of the Bionics Integrated Systems Laboratory. His research interests are in the areas of integrated electronics for biomedical application
and embedded and digitally assisted low-power analog circuits.