analog front end (AFE)
Beginner
The part of a chip that picks up the body’s tiny electric signals and makes them big and clear enough to measure.
Novice
The amplifiers, filters and analog-to-digital converter that pick up the body’s electrical signals, such as heartbeats or nerve activity, which range from millionths to thousandths of a volt, and turn them into numbers.
Expert
Designed for input-referred noise of a few µVrms at µA currents, rejection of large electrode offsets through AC coupling, and low noise through large input devices or chopping. Noise efficiency factor is the usual figure of merit.
Explained in Medical devices (Industries).