The pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of the healthcare sector as people seek to avoid crowded hospitals and prefer to receive necessary care at home to prevent diseases. The rapid adoption of telehealth and remote healthcare services has accelerated the demand for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), driving the need for smarter, more accurate, and more connected wearable and portable medical devices. This article will explore the trends in healthcare applications and the product features of wireless solutions introduced by Silicon Labs.
Healthcare institutions are significantly accelerating the adoption of the Internet of Medical Things
Since the onset of the pandemic, healthcare institutions worldwide have seen an exponential increase in the proportion of healthcare IT budgets, with large healthcare institutions intensifying their investments in digital transformation initiatives, especially in smart hospitals and clinics.
Healthcare professionals and consumers are currently witnessing how technology can be used more effectively to practice and deliver healthcare, addressing the surge in demand for remote healthcare services. The proliferation of the IoMT is transforming the healthcare industry, driving the digital transformation of clinical healthcare environments and digital transformations beyond traditional clinical settings, whether at home or in remote healthcare. From predictive maintenance and calibration of smart medical facility equipment to clinical efficiency of healthcare resources, to remote health management in homes, these devices are revolutionizing healthcare operations while enabling patients to enjoy a normal quality of life at home, increasing accessibility, and improving health outcomes.
The pandemic has also accelerated the widespread adoption of IoMT. To keep pace with this trend, device manufacturers are facing challenges. They must integrate secure, energy-efficient wireless connectivity into extremely small sizes, even smaller than teeth. However, when it comes to health issues, size is not the only concern; battery life, power consumption, security, and energy efficiency are equally important.
Most IoT wearables and portable medical devices require accurate tracking of people's biometric data, allowing healthcare providers to remotely monitor patients, track progress, and intervene when necessary. Device lifespan is crucial here, as medical devices can have a long shelf life and usage duration, ranging from several days to months, or even years.
In addition, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) is having a significant impact on the healthcare sector. Manufacturers of many portable medical devices, such as Blood Glucose Monitors (BGM), Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM), Blood Pressure Monitors, Pulse Oximeters, Insulin Pumps, Cardiac Monitoring Systems, Epilepsy Management, Saliva Monitors, among others, are seeing AI/ML helping to create smarter, faster, and more energy-efficient applications.
SoC designed specifically for low-power, small form-factor end devices
Silicon Labs has introduced a new series of low-power SoCs designed to provide secure and energy-efficient multi-protocol wireless connectivity for IoT devices. This series includes the multi-protocol SoC MG27 and the Bluetooth LE SoC BG27.
The EFR32MG27 series, developed by Silicon Labs, expands their Zigbee product portfolio and is specifically designed for low-power, small form-factor end devices. These SoCs integrate a DCDC boost converter, allowing IoT device manufacturers to operate at voltages as low as 0.8 volts, enabling the use of single-cell alkaline batteries and button cells, thereby reducing the device's form factor and cost.
The EFR32MG27 is a low-power wireless System-on-Chip that features a high-performance 32-bit 76.8 MHz ARM Cortex®-M33 processor with DSP instructions and a floating-point unit for efficient signal processing. It comes with up to 768 kB of flash program memory and up to 64 kB of RAM data memory. It supports 2.4 GHz radio operation with low system power consumption and offers a wide range of MCU peripheral options, including a 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (IADC), analog comparators (ACMP), and up to 26 general-purpose I/O pins with output state retention and asynchronous interrupt capabilities. Additionally, it features an 8-channel DMA controller and a 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System (PRS).
The EFR32MG27 supports various modulation formats, including (G)FSK, OQPSK DSSS, and (G)MSK, and is compatible with multiple protocols such as Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth 5.4), Bluetooth Mesh, and proprietary 2.4 GHz protocols. It offers a wide operating temperature range of -40°C to 125°C, supports QFN40 and QFN32 packages, and includes robust security features, including ARM TrustZone®.
Silicon Labs has also introduced the EFR32xG27 Pro +4 dBm Kit (xG27-PK6019A) to accelerate customer product development based on the EFR32xG27 series. This kit is designed to support the development of wireless IoT devices using EFR32xG27 SoCs, featuring CSP packaging, a DCDC boost converter, and support for 2.4 GHz wireless protocols (including BLE and Bluetooth Mesh).
Offering Bluetooth wireless SoCs in ultra-small WLCSP packaging
Bluetooth LE SoCs are the ideal choice for ultra-small portable medical devices, and connected medical devices are crucial for providing remote care services, reducing healthcare costs, preventing disease spread, and making healthcare services more accessible from home.
Silicon Labs offers another EFR32BG27 series 2 Bluetooth® wireless SoC that provides an ultra-small WLCSP package (2.3mm x 2.6mm) and can operate using button cells, opening up new possibilities. Now, device manufacturers can meet the demands of ultra-small package applications without sacrificing performance and security. The BG27 Bluetooth SoC integrates DCDC boost functionality, allowing it to operate at voltages as low as 0.8 volts, supporting single-cell alkaline and 1.5-volt button cell batteries, typically used in medical applications such as battery-powered patches, wearable electrocardiograms (ECG), and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices. Furthermore, the BG27's wake-up pin allows products in warehouses or during transport to remain closed for months with a power consumption of less than 20 nA, ensuring that the battery remains fully charged for use. The integrated coulomb counter accurately monitors battery levels, preventing unexpected battery depletion in critical applications. Target applications include connected medical devices, wearables, sensors, switches, smart locks, as well as commercial and LED lighting. The BG27 allows device manufacturers to add high-performance, secure, low-power Bluetooth LE to small package devices, expanding the possibilities for smart connected medical devices and wearables.
The EFR32BG27, a low-power wireless SoC, features a high-performance 32-bit 76.8 MHz ARM Cortex®-M33 with DSP instructions and a floating-point unit for efficient signal processing. It offers up to 768 kB of flash program memory and up to 64 kB of RAM data memory, supports 2.4 GHz radio operation, low system energy consumption, and a wide range of MCU peripheral options, including 16-bit analog-to-digital converters (IADC), analog comparators (ACMP), up to 26 general I/O pins with output status holding and asynchronous interrupt functionality, an 8-channel DMA controller, and a 12-channel Peripheral Reflex System (PRS).
The EFR32BG27 supports various modulation formats, including (G)FSK, OQPSK DSSS, and (G)MSK with fully configurable shaping capabilities. Supported protocols include Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth 5.4), Bluetooth mesh networking, and proprietary solutions. The EFR32BG27 operates over a wide temperature range from -40°C to 125°C and supports three package options: QFN40, QFN32, and WLCSP39. It includes robust security features, including ARM® TrustZone®. The EFR32BG27 helps medical device manufacturers integrate high-performance Bluetooth LE connectivity into smaller, more challenging device packages, creating opportunities for differentiation, entering new market categories, and increasing buyer appeal.
Silicon Labs offers the EFR32xG27 Pro kit +4 dBm (xG27-PK6019A) to support the development of wireless IoT devices based on the EFR32xG27, featuring CSP packaging, DCDC boost, and support for 2.4 GHz wireless protocols, including BLE and Bluetooth mesh networking.
Wireless SoCs with built-in AI/ML hardware accelerator
Silicon Labs has also introduced the industry's first wireless SoC with a built-in AI/ML hardware accelerator, the xG24 series SoC. The xG24 is a groundbreaking product suitable for building Matter-certified devices, multi-protocol operations, Bluetooth LE applications, and more.
The EFR32BG24B310F1536IJ42 wireless SoC in a CSP is the ideal solution for BLE IoT wireless connectivity. It finds applications in clinical and portable medical devices, smart homes, and lighting equipment. IoT device manufacturers can create smarter, faster, and more energy-efficient applications in compact form factors while protecting end-user privacy, thanks to key features such as high-performance RF, low current consumption, AI/ML hardware accelerators, and PSA Level 3 security certification.
The BG24 comes with a large storage capacity of up to 1536 MB flash, 256 kB RAM, and up to 20 GPIOs, providing ample resources for software, design, protocols, and peripheral devices, leaving room for growth.
This single-chip BG24 combines a 78 MHz ARM Cortex-M33 processor, high-performance 2.4 GHz radio, an industry-leading 20-bit analog-to-digital converter (16-bit ENOB), 16-bit ADC, and a 12-bit ADC in an optimized combination. It also includes an AI/ML hardware accelerator for processing machine learning algorithms, freeing up the ARM Cortex-M33 to execute other operations, resulting in improved performance and energy efficiency. These SoCs support a wide range of 2.4 GHz wireless IoT protocols, with the highest security and the best RF performance/efficiency ratio on the market. BG24 also provides precise on-chip reference voltage and robust RF interference tolerance, enabling the design of highly accurate medical instruments that gain a competitive advantage in the market, increase customer satisfaction, and boost product sales.
When considering the deployment of AI or machine learning in IoT, designers often have to sacrifice performance and energy efficiency to achieve edge applications. With BG24's dedicated built-in AI/ML accelerator, this hardware is designed to efficiently process complex computations, with a performance improvement of up to 4x and energy efficiency gains of up to 6x. By performing machine learning calculations locally on the device rather than in the cloud, network latency is eliminated, allowing devices to make decisions and take actions more quickly.
BG24 has the largest flash and random-access memory (RAM) capacity in the Silicon Labs product portfolio, allowing devices to evolve for ML algorithm training with large datasets. Equipped with Secure Vault security technology certified at PSA Level 3, BG24 introduces the highest level of security for IoT devices, providing the necessary security features for products such as smart locks, medical devices, and other sensitive deployments. Enhanced device security protection against external threats is crucial in these products.
Silicon Labs also offers the EFR32xG24 Pro +20 dBm kit, designed to support wireless IoT device development based on EFR32xG24, and it supports the development of 2.4 GHz wireless protocols, including BLE, Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee, Thread, and Matter.
Conclusion
Global healthcare institutions are significantly increasing their healthcare IT budgets and procuring more intelligent medical devices. On the consumer end, the adoption of smart connected medical devices and wearables is also rapidly growing, with immense market potential. Wireless solutions offered by Silicon Labs can meet the stringent requirements of healthcare applications in terms of intelligence, size, and power consumption, making it an ideal choice for manufacturers looking to enter the healthcare market.