A new radio architecture for implantable medical devices offers what medical device manufacturers want, according to UK designer Cambridge Consultants.

The product is called SubQuore and it combines low power requirements with robust wireless communications, aspects sought after by the

This control and communications platform is suitable for devices using Medical Implant Communications Service (MICS) frequencies, the medical band that is emerging as a global standard, according to Cambridge Consultants. Designed for implementation on system-on-chip (SoC) solutions, SubQuore would deliver more than ten years of activity from a lithium cell. However, it is equally capable of meeting short term requirements for high volumes of data, in a swallowable video imaging device for example.

Advances in electronics technology are enabling a host of new implantable applications, notes Richard Traherne, head of the wireless business unit of Cambridge Consultants. This design "draws on three of those trends: ultra low power consumption technology, more intelligent radio performance and extreme miniaturization," Traherne says. The company predicts there will be great demand for an optimized single-chip wireless platform that delivers the economy required for mass-volume medical applications.

Applications for high-performance/long-lifecycle MICS devices are implantable pacemakers, defibrillators, remote telemonitors, orthopaedic devices, pump controllers, nerve stimulators and swallowable imaging and diagnostic systems.

For further information, contact: Cambridge Consultants Ltd, Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge, CB4 0DW, UK; tel: +44-1223-420024; fax: +44-1223-423373; or: US office: 451 D Street, Boston MA 02210, USA; tel: +1-617-532-4700; fax: +1 617-737-9889; Internet: www.cambridgeconsultants.com