Design and implementation of an ultra-small vital-signs-monitoring multi-sensing microsystem for COVID-19 management

该合作研究项目由一个多学科团队组成，包括两所大学、两名加拿大研究主席和三个医疗技术和先进制造领域的创新合作伙伴组织，旨在设计、制造和测试一种小型、廉价且易于使用的可穿戴多传感设备，以持续远程监测患者，并极大地帮助管理COVID-19。该装置既可用于对检测呈阳性的患者进行随访，也可用于监测老年人或免疫功能低下等高危患者。我们设想有史以来最小的生命体征监测设备。该微传感器将通过与CMC Microsystems合作开发的先进3D-IC集成策略，将CMOS定制集成电路与超小型现成电子元件（COTS）相结合，实现极端的小型化水平。微型多传感设备将满足iMD研究的需求，该研究致力于为患者提供廉价的多传感监测设备，延长电池寿命，以远程连续测量温度，心率（HR），血压（BP），血氧饱和度（SPO2）和呼吸速率（RR）。专用集成电路（asic）和超小型COTS将使用基于硅中间体开发的先进系统级封装芯片集成进行组合和互连。整个微传感器的功耗将非常低，在几百微瓦以内，以延长电池寿命。该公司将与Nexless合作开发定制软件应用程序，以准确、连续地读取患者的生命体征，并关闭患者与Nexless呼吸机等各种连接设备之间的循环。在规模上，我们的设备将是廉价的，并为病人、他们的家人和卫生保健工作者提供直接和有效的救济。此外，加拿大重新开放经济的能力将取决于我们衡量和监测COVID-19病例波动的能力。我们的设备可以在这方面提供巨大的帮助。

This collaborative research project, which counts on a multidisciplinary team, including two universities, two Canada research Chairs, and three innovative partner organizations in medical technologies and advanced manufacturing, aims to design, manufacture and test a tiny, inexpensive and easy-to-use wearable multi-sensing device to continuously monitor patients remotely, and help greatly to manage COVID-19. This device will be useful both for the follow-up of patients that tested positive as for the monitoring of patients at risk such as the elderly or immunocompromised. We envision the smallest vital signs monitoring device ever designed. This microsensor will achieve an extreme level of miniaturization by combining CMOS custom integrated circuits with ultra-small electronic components available off the shelf (COTS) through an advanced 3D-IC integration strategy that will be developed in collaboration with CMC Microsystems. The miniature multi-sensing device will address the requirements of iMD research, which strives to provide patients with inexpensive multi-sensing monitoring devices of extended battery life to continuously measure temperature, heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), oxygen saturation (SPO2) and respiratory rate (RR) remotely. Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and ultra-small COTS will be combined and interconnected together using the advanced system-in-package chip integration that will be developed based on silicon interposers. The power consumption of the whole microsensor will be very low, within a few hundreds of microwatts, in order to extend the battery life. A custom software application will be developed in collaboration with Nexless to accurately and continuously read patients' vital signs and close the loop between the patients and various connected devices, such as Nexless's ventilators. At scale, our device will be inexpensive and provide direct and effective relief to patients, their families, and health care workers. Furthermore, the ability of Canada to reopen its economy will depend on our ability to measure and monitor the fluctuation in COVID-19 cases. Our device could be of immense help in that effort.