Silicon Labs BG29 Bluetooth LE SoC Packs More Compute and Security for the Smallest of Medical and Health Devices
Looking back, we can see now that the COVID-19 pandemic marked an inflection point on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT). Today, technological innovation in this field is flourishing, and the adoption rate of connected medical devices is accelerating continuously. Unit shipments of wireless medical devices are predicted to grow by 40% compared to from the levels of 2024, from (329mu shipped to 544mu predicted in 2028).
Miniaturization of Wireless Compute
There are multiple growth drivers in the IoMT. The wireless computing platforms are getting smaller, smarter, and more powerful. Microprocessor clock speeds and memory capacities are increasing. Hardware AI/ML accelerators have found their way into wireless microcontrollers. Security solidifies continuously. Yet, the size of the microprocessors remains the same, even shrinking.
The continuous miniaturization of wireless computing is a key driver for the evolution of IoMT. Lura Health, an innovative health technology company, introduced the world’s smallest connected wearable device in 2023, a smart tooth implant. This miniscule device is glued to a tooth, and features powerful computing and high-performance Bluetooth LE connectivity, allowing dentists and clinicians to collect important data from saliva, which is an important health indicator, used to test more than 1,000 health conditions.
The trailblazer device makers are constantly seeking to move the barriers of what’s possible in tiny connectivity, adding wireless to ever smaller device form -factors, and to applications that nobody ever imagined would be connected.
Imagine What’s Possible with Our New BG29 Bluetooth LE SoC
Today, we’re excited to announce the BG29 family of wireless SoCs, bringing high compute, large memory, and high-performance Bluetooth (LE) connectivity to the smallest form factor devices. The BG29 is designed for advanced connected medical and health applications, such as wearables, patches, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), insulin delivery systems, sleep monitors, and smart implants. Its highly sensitive radio is optimized to function while operating in direct contact with the body, all within compact and complex form factors.
Key Features of the BG29 Small Bluetooth Microcontroller
The new BG29 is equipped with a several features optimized for miniaturized devices and wearables:
The BG29 is extremely compact. It is available in QFN and WLCSP packages, the latter one only occupying 2.6 x 2.8 mm of footprint. This makes the BG29 one of smallest, secure, and powerful wireless MCU solutions in the market. The WLCSP is ideal for tiny devices, including insulin delivery patches, sleep monitoring devices, continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), and smart tooth implants. The QFN package, on the other hand, is optimized for non-size constrained health devices such as pulse oximeters and heart rate monitors.
The human body is one of the most complex design challenges for medical device makers. It absorbs and reflects radio signals and disturbs antenna resonance, especially for small wearable devices imposed to strict regulatory guidance and specific absorption rate (SAR) limits. BG29 features the best-in-class radio sensitivity of –99.2 dBm, which is the most important characteristic of sending and receiving Bluetooth messages in in-body and on-body applications while saving device energy and battery.
With its high memory capacity of 1 MB Flash, 256 kB RAM, and 76.8 MHz ARM® Cortex®-M33 processor, the BG29 delivers superior processing capabilities for advanced applications with low power consumption. It has ample computing power to crunch complex algorithms while the large memory keeps data tracking going even during long smartphone connection breaks.
The integrated DCDC Boost on BG29 also provides medical device makers with a wide voltage range, enabling single-cell alkaline and button cells, 1.5V silver oxides, and other chemistries, reducing the battery and device sizes. The integrated coulomb counter, available only in Buck mode, enables accurate battery level monitoring on medical devices to avoid unexpected battery depletion during critical health application usage, enhancing the user experience.
Lastly, the BG29 is highly secure, which is critical in medical and health segments. The Silicon Labs Secure Vault™ High solution with Virtual Secure Engine protects the device and user against scalable local and remote software and hardware attacks by providing advanced encryption, secure key management, and authentication.
BG29 is Ready for Your Secure Medical Device and Beyond
“Anything that benefits from being connected, will be connected, regardless of how small that thing is.”
The connected smart tooth implant is a great example of the ever-evolving miniaturization of wireless computing. We designed BG29 for the innovative device makers who are seeking to break the records of tiny connectivity to make the world a safer and healthier place. The BG29 Bluetooth LE wireless MCU is now ready for the miniaturization journey. Just imagine what’s possible for you.!
