An Energy-Efficient, Dynamic Voltage Scaling Neural Stimulator for a Proprioceptive Prosthesis
File(s)2013_TBCAS_DVS_Final_Compressed.pdf (1.42 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Williams, I
Constandinou, TG
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This paper presents an 8 channel energy-efficient neural stimulator for generating charge-balanced asymmetric pulses. Power consumption is reduced by implementing a fully integrated DC-DC converter that uses a reconfigurable switched capacitor topology to provide 4 output voltages for Dynamic Voltage Scaling (DVS). DC conversion efficiencies of up to 82% are achieved using integrated capacitances of under 1 nF and the DVS approach offers power savings of up to 50% compared to the front end of a typical current controlled neural stimulator. A novel charge balancing method is implemented which has a low level of accuracy on a single pulse and a much higher accuracy over a series of pulses. The method used is robust to process and component variation and does not require any initial or ongoing calibration. Measured results indicate that the charge imbalance is typically between 0.05% - 0.15% of charge injected for a series of pulses. Ex-vivo experiments demonstrate the viability in using this circuit for neural activation. The circuit has been implemented in a commercially-available 0.18μm HV CMOS technology and occupies a core die area of approximately 2.8mm² for an 8 channel implementation.
Date Issued
2013-05
Citation
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems, 2013, 7 (2), pp.129-139
Publisher
IEEE
Start Page
129
End Page
139
Journal / Book Title
IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems
Volume
7
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2013 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Description
02/05/13 KB. Ok to add author version to Spiral. IEEE
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/11039
Subjects
Neural stimulator
Current mode
Dynamic Voltage Scaling
Power efficient
Charge balancing
Proprioception
Publication Status
Accepted