Power-Efficiency of Signal Processing Circuits in Implantable Multichannel Brain-Machine Interface

Abstract

The nature of the neural signals, increasing density in multichannel arrays, information quality, and feasible data bandwidth pose significant challenges encountered in a power-efficient design of implantable brain-machine interface. In this paper, we propose a set of solutions to address this design problem at both circuit- and system abstraction level. In particular, we review circuits for real time read-out of neural signals and discuss the role of classification in hardware neural processing architectures; we review the challenges of realizing power-efficient circuits in physical systems and present examples of mixed-signal electronic circuits that implement them; we provide a broad view of optimization approaches, and their possible combination in effective complimentary techniques. We validate the approach with experimental results obtained from our own circuits and systems, and argue how the circuits and systems presented in this work represent a valid set of components for power-efficient design of implantable multichannel brain-machine interface.