Originally Published EMDM October 2002
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Electronics
Chips Propel Advances in Medical Imaging Equipment
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Chips
developed by Equator provide high accuracy, a high level of overall image
quality, and real-time data processing.
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A family of chips can perform as many as 40 billion video-processing operations per second. Using the chips from the USA-based headquarters of Equator Europe (Bray, Berks, UK), the image computing systems laboratory at the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA) developed functions that enable the software-programmable chips to support the specific requirements of various medical imaging equipment. The chips' platform is well suited for the imaging devices, which require high accuracy, a high level of overall image quality, and real-time processing of substantial amounts of data.
Equator's system has 129 highly optimized functions including arithmetic, morphology, spatial and frequency-domain filtering, segmentation, contrast enhancement, 3-D volume manipulation, and rendering, as well as geometric manipulations and transformations.
"When we decided to explore medical imaging, it quickly became clear that we would need a powerful programmable processor that would be capable of handling the many complex algorithms and data flows needed in each medical imaging modality," says Yongmin Kim, professor and chair of bioengineering at the University of Washington. "Equator's BSP processor was the only engine fast enough to support our high-level image computing requirements, and its software programmability ensured that new codes and algorithms could be "quickly and easily adapted."
Copyright ©2002 European Medical Device Manufacturer
