A Bioimpedance Spectroscopy Interface for EIM Based on IF-Sampling and Pseudo 2-Path SC Bandpass $\Delta\Sigma$ ADC

Abstract

This paper presents a low-noise bioimpedance (bio-Z) spectroscopy interface for electrical impedance myography (EIM) over the 1 kHz to 2 MHz frequency range. The proposed interface employs a sinusoidal signal generator based on direct-digital-synthesis (DDS) to improve the accuracy of the bio-Z reading, and a quadrature low-intermediate frequency (IF) readout to achieve a good noise-to-power efficiency and the required data throughput to detect muscle contractions. The readout is able to measure baseline and time-varying bio-Z by employing robust and power-efficient low-gain IAs and sixth-order single-bit bandpass (BP) $\mathbf{\Delta\Sigma}$ ADCs. The proposed bio-Z spectroscopy interface is implemented in a 180 nm CMOS process, consumes 344.3 $-$ 479.3 $\mathbf{\mu}$ W, and occupies 5.4 mm ² area. Measurement results show 0.7 m $\mathbf{\Omega}$ / $\sqrt{\text{Hz}}$ sensitivity at 15.625 kHz, 105.8 dB SNR within 4 Hz bandwidth, and a 146.5 dB figure-of-merit. Additionally, recording of EIM in time and frequency domain during contractions of the bicep brachii muscle demonstrates the potential of the proposed bio-Z interface for wearable EIM systems.