The so-called Palm NMR and One-Chip NMR could power a new generation of $15,000 portable systems that could be used in a doctor's office or clinics to scan human DNA, proteins and molecules. They would replace stationary systems costing as much as $200,000, typically dedicated to a single scanning function.

Researchers from startup Harvard University and T2 Biosystems Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) will detail first results of a 0.1 kilogram instrument they claim is 150 times more sensitive than the current NMR systems that weigh in at 120 kilograms. Harvard doctoral candidate Nan Sun led the design of the chip and system.

The portable device can scan molecular-level structures in a sample of human blood, urine or saliva collected on a chip substrate. The device implants tiny ion oxide particles in target antibodies on the chip. The cells are then spun in one direction by a magnet the size of a ping-pong ball, then spun again in an opposite direction using an electric current generated by the tester.

The system uses a CMOS RF transceiver to measure the time it takes the cells to return to their original state inside the magnet—called T2—to determine the presence and magnitude of a target virus or antigen. "This is the first time we are showing real results off a system developed in our lab," said John McDonough, chief executive of T2.

The startup has raised about $16.3 million in two venture rounds to date since it was founded in 2006.

In other medical electronics papers at ISSCC, researchers at Purdue will describe an implantable MEMS pressure sensor smaller than a cubic millimeter. The research device would report on eye pressure for glaucoma patients using a 2.4 GHz link.

Researchers at National Taiwan University will present an SoC that transmits low-voltage radio waves to apply heat to relieve chronic back pain. The 350nm device is mounted on a small printed circuit board connected to a flexible coil antenna that stimulates the lumbar nerve.