IMEC development kit

The market for wearable Health Tech devices is booming, but it still takes an enormous investment to bring a new product or service to market. The research centers at IMEC and the Holst Centre hope to make it easier to design new health and medical wearable devices through the release of their new development kit.

The package is built around the MUSEIC chip that the two groups developed. It is an ultra-low power data acquisition device that can handle multiple sensors at one time. The chip can process analog data from a three-lead ECG. The kit also includes an accelerometer and microphone, an ARM microprocessor, and an SD card for storage. It also supports Bluetooth 4.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy. The system consumes just 10 mW on average, making it practical to record data for up to three days on a single battery charge.

The miniature, open hardware platform is intended to help designers create customized devices quickly and at low cost. It also can help drive field studies and other research into health and medical applications for wearable technology.