Healthcare electronics—A step closer to future smart cities

Abstract

As information and communication technologies are transforming traditional cities into smart cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) makes smart cities efficient and responsive. In retrospect, for medical technologists to enter and establish themselves in the new healthcare industry, it is imperative that we look beyond traditional forms of technological innovations. Hence, IoT is an avenue for consideration. It is hoped that IoT-based healthcare devices will be able to provide the early detection of potential exacerbations and inform patients and medical professionals such that they can be treated promptly. In regard to smart healthcare within smart cities, this paper presents a study where an optoelectronic controller chip was designed to control the micro light emitting diode (LED) matrix used in retinal prosthesis. An individually addressable low-power micro LED array is designed and the results are reported. The chip is fabricated using the German foundry X-FAB 0.35-μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology and the total die area is 4mm2. It is envisaged that the presented design and technology could potentially be used for a number of applications in healthcare and consumer electronics. Keywords: Smart cities, Smart healthcare, Retinal prosthesis, Microchip