VIT Chennai develops chip for portable medical devices for self-diagnostic application

CHENNAI: An "unique" chip capable of integrating into portable medical devices for self-diagnostic application has been designed and developed by Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, the university said.

The Mixed-Signal Readout Interface (RoI) chip integrates both analog and digital circuits to exploit the advantages of both designs, said scientists from the Centre for Nanoelectronics and VLSI Design (CNVD) of VIT Chennai. The chip enables processing with 14 per cent less power consumption than the products available in the market.

It also has the advantage of a 4 per cent reduction in delay, making it well-suited for micro sensor-based handheld glucose monitoring devices and electronic stethoscopes, said a press release from VIT.

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T Thyagarajan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, VIT Chennai, said the faculty team from CNVD taped out the indigenously designed chip at the Semiconductor Laboratory in Mohali. Tape-out refers to the final step in the design of an integrated circuit, where the completed and verified design is sent to a semiconductor foundry for manufacturing.

The fabricated chip was formally handed over to the VIT Chennai team by Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw recently, the release further said.