Maxim introduces defibrillation pulses and ESD protection devices for medical applications with 100 times less leakage current

     Maxim Integrated introduces the MAX30034, a new defibrillator protection device that can be used in a wide range of medical devices such as defibrillators, ECG diagnostics and monitoring to protect them from defibrillation pulses and electrostatic discharge (ESD). Compared to existing processing methods and devices, the device can simplify design, save more than 75% of space, reduce the material bill, and greatly improve performance.

     One challenge in the design of defibrillators and ECG monitors is that the ECG input amplifier must withstand high voltage pulses during cardiac resuscitation. These pulses can easily damage the highly sensitive electronic circuits used to capture millivolt ECG signals. To prevent such damage, gas discharge tubes (GDT) and/or transient voltage suppression (TVS) devices are required in each channel, as well as triple protection for multi-component architectures such as ESD protection diodes. Moreover, the leakage current generated by the scheme (a key parameter) is relatively high, about 1-2nA.

     Maxim's four-channel defibrillator protection device, the MAX30034, uses an innovative topology based on an advanced semiconductor process to absorb and bypass high energy pulses harmlessly away from sensitive circuits. This small, powerful product requires only a pair of external resistors for each channel to easily achieve the goal of smaller size and lower leakage current. The MAX30034 can replace the primary GDT and/or TVS, as well as the secondary ESD protection diodes used in conventional solutions for forced circuit protection. The device can withstand more than 100,000 defibrillation pulses and still maintain a leakage current below 10pA (100 times lower than the GDT/TVS).