The importance of ADCs in low-power electrocardiography ASICs

By Ian Lankshear

December 4, 2025

Electrocardiography (ECG) plays a central role in both diagnostic and ongoing health monitoring. This is especially true for wearable and implantable medical devices as they become more mainstream.

As device requirements for power consumption, size, and signal quality grow stricter, many engineers are turning to application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to meet these demands. Within these ASICs, the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) must be carefully optimized for power efficiency, resolution, and noise control.

In the first article of this two-part series, we’ll offer an overview of ECG systems, lead generation and how channel count affects ADC selection. In the second article, we’ll look at the principal trade-offs engineers face when choosing and refining ADCs for ECG ASIC design, providing context for tailoring these parameters to each use case.