An electrode resistance monitoring circuit utilizing current comparison is proposed and demonstrated for implantable cardiac pacemakers. The resistance detection circuit compares the electrode resistance with the reference resistance in a highly-symmetrical topology based on current reference. It works in deep sub-threshold region with ultra-low power consumption. However, it is able to achieve a resistance detection threshold as low as several kilo Ohm. The circuit is implemented in 0.35-μm CMOS process. It consumes only 164 nA in monitoring mode and achieves reliable resistance detection threshold of 4.5 kΩ. The measurement results of 50 samples verify that it’s qualified for application in implantable cardiac pacemakers.

针对植入式心脏起搏器提出并演示了一种利用电流比较的电极电阻监测电路。电阻检测电路在基于电流参考的高度对称拓扑中将电极电阻与参考电阻进行比较。它工作在超低功耗的深亚阈值区域。然而，它能够实现低至几千欧姆的电阻检测阈值。该电路采用 0.35-μm CMOS 工艺实现。它在监控模式下仅消耗 164 nA，并实现了 4.5 kΩ 的可靠电阻检测阈值。50个样品的测量结果验证了其可用于植入式心脏起搏器。