Analogue front end suited to wearable applications

The highly integrated AD8233 AFE eliminates unnecessary costs and extra design time, helping developers get products to market more quickly.

The device is an integrated signal conditioning block designed to extract, amplify, and filter small biopotential signals in the presence of noisy conditions, such as those created by motion or remote electrode placement. This design allows for an ultra-low-power analog-to-digital converter (ADC) or an embedded microcontroller to easily acquire the output signal.

The device’s tiny, 2.0mm × 1.7mm footprint enables designers to create wearable health devices that are smaller, lighter, and easier to wear.

Along with its small size, the single-supply (1.7V to 3.5V) AD8233 features extremely low quiescent current of 50 μA (typical), resulting in greatly extended battery life that helps support continuous monitoring without the interruption of a recharge or battery replacement.      

For ease-of-use and flexibility, the AD8233 includes an integrated right leg drive (RLD) amplifier with shutdown plus an uncommitted op amp.

The device also provides a two-pole adjustable high-pass filter, a three-pole adjustable low-pass filter with adjustable gain, and a radio frequency interference (RFI) filter to allow for consistent, confident operation in an inherently harsh electrical environent under a range of use cases. The AD8233 is supported by the AD8233CB-EBZ evaluation board, a ready-to-use AFE tool with the necessary inputs, outputs, supplies, and leads routed to test pins to simplify connectivity.