Medical electronics follow a development path similar to that of consumer electronics, with smaller, faster, more powerful devices paving the way for changes in the way patient care is delivered. High-performance computing – and high-bandwidth communications between patient devices, hospital records systems, and healthcare providers – is driving great improvements in medical imaging and overall patient care. This will only improve from here, with medical imaging benefiting as manufacturers produce more advanced silicon with more powerful, more integrated graphics features. At the same time, hospital systems are breaking previous records for packing huge bandwidth into tightly integrated, streamlined systems.

Time to market, development cost and risk, understanding medical certifications, and incorporating product scalability and longevity are just some of the design concerns for this market. Improving patient care while reducing costs is no easy feat – but new, value-added technologies like the Universal Graphics Module (UGM) standard (Figure 1) are making a big difference. Designers today are working with both Computer-On-Modules (COMs) and CompactPCI to deliver powerful devices, both large and small, that capture and share better imaging data than ever before.

Figure 1: A Universal Graphics Module (UGM). Medical electronics engineers can learn more about UGM by reading a detailed technical overview at www.ugm-standard.org. (click graphic to zoom by 1.3x)

The better the data, the better the care

Medical equipment designers face perhaps some of the most demanding – and rewarding – design challenges in embedded arenas. By creating systems that not only capture better patient information, but also share it quickly and effectively, they have the ability to make a dramatic, long-term impact on patient care, diagnosis, and treatment. That impact is based on a simple principle: The better the data, the better the care. Medical technology continuously evolves, so designers have to either keep up or lead the way with new and more powerful devices.

A range of embedded technology works together in today’s medical imaging systems. Portable, take everywhere devices are less intrusive and improve the speed and quality of information gathered directly from the patient. Higher bandwidth communications, both in portable devices and in stationary, large-scale medical imaging machines, can capture imaging that conveys a significant amount of what medical personnel need for decision making. And more centralized hospital information systems can very effectively serve high-quality patient information to healthcare providers.

With key design considerations focused on low power consumption, high efficiency driven by extended battery life, and high precision for fast response time, designers can fashion COMs to give medical practitioners fast and effective access to a patient’s health status.

Portability no longer means sacrificed image quality, or limited options among standards-based computing platforms that meet both the computing requirements and the form factor. Designers now have additional options available in the COMs standard, including the microETXexpress and nanoETXexpress families of COM Express compatible modules (following the Type 1 and Type 2 pinouts defined by PICMG). Equipped with space- and energy-saving 45nm high-end processors, the newest COMs set higher performance-per-watt standards for medical imaging applications – in environments with high demands on data processing and/or multimedia conversion and output.

COMs themselves are off-the-shelf compact modules containing all foundation PC functions – from graphics, Ethernet, sound, COM, and USB ports – to other system buses. These small form factor modules represent an entire computer host-complex and are then mounted onto carrier boards customized for specific medical end uses with application-specific I/O and power circuitry. The custom designed carrier board is the only piece of the design that relates to the specific medical application, adding functionality required for any number of unique treatment or diagnostic procedures. For instance, the application could be for medical imaging or for capturing blood pressure or heart rate. By swapping out various CPU cores, customization can last for generations or happen within a single generation. Designers simply use the same carrier board and incorporate a new module within the board.

Improved graphics strengthen COM Express usefulness

COM Express modules deliver the right balance of size, power, and functionality – big advantages for portable medical devices. However, having demanding video and image applications (such as HDTV and 3D graphics) share the CPU module’s system memory can create a processing bottleneck. Medical imaging devices have similar demands, as do machines that are not necessarily considered imaging devices. Consider the equipment that translates pulse or breathing information into viewable graphics. As a result, medical electronics engineers must frequently design-in the ability for high-resolution data capture and speedy image processing. Often the CPU might not be sufficient to effectively manage these more intense graphics processes, a drawback that’s driving those functions to a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU).

As dedicated rendering devices, GPUs can either live on top of a video card or be fully integrated into the motherboard. They are very efficient at managing and displaying high-resolution graphic images, However, until recently there has been no COM Express solution for a GPU. Designers have relied on dedicated standard graphics cards integrated into the COMs custom carrier board – a more mechanically complex scenario demanding higher profile components, fan requirements, and output connectors that are not suitable for a COMs design. And designers found that one more monkey wrench was tossed in when it turned out that these commercial graphics cards did not meet the long life cycles needed for embedded applications.

Monkey wrench-ectomy

Designers now have access to Universal Graphics Modules as a standardized COMs graphics solution. The new UGM standard, proposed and defined by Kontron and XGI Technology Inc. as an open standard, defines an 84 mm x 95 mm universal graphics-on-module and supplies monitors with all current and future in-demand graphics card signals. UGM is a dedicated graphics module specifically for embedded applications. That means the UGM simple connector, accelerated HD video, and freedom from a fan requirement offer significant improvements and benefits to the COMs’ management of graphics.

UGM offers quick and easy implementation of advanced graphics, simplifying the design process with a proven all-in-one AMP/Tyco connector, delivering all in and out signals. Its 12 V power supply matches that of the COM Express itself, and it can provide a single voltage supply of up to 130 W. Perhaps UGM’s most important design advantage is that it was developed for the embedded market, simplifying COMs’ graphics with one connector, no cables, increased shock resistance, and low power consumption – including long-term, three-to five year availability as an embedded component.

UGM was created specifically to fit COM Express design concepts, so its associated design risk is low, even for the highly dynamic graphics market. Based on its independence, interchangeability, and upgradeability, UGM is expected to drive new graphics applications and bring higher resolution and increased data capture speeds to portable and ultra-portable medical devices.

Detailed data in real time

In sharp contrast to tiny, portable medical devices, the broad spectrum of medical design also includes hospital records systems or larger imaging applications such as room-sized MRI or scanning machines. These critical systems demand ever-increasing computing power and are found in the growing number of medical applications that rely heavily on image processing.

With distributed high processing capabilities and tremendous I/O throughput, CompactPCI serves imaging applications that are improving patient care and delivering detailed data in real-time to both patients and healthcare professionals.

New robust construction, high-performance PCI Express computing blades are driving CompactPCI systems to more prominent roles in medical applications. Using Intel Core 2 Duo processors is turning what were once data throughput country roads into super highways. Overall, multicore architectures for CompactPCI result in 25 percent faster core speeds (2.53 GHz), 50 percent more L2 cache (6 MB), and a 60 percent faster FSB (1066 MHz) – all achieved without increasing energy consumption.

45nm holds even greater promise for CompactPCI architectures in medical embedded applications. Data throughput can be further increased up to 8.5 GBps with the use of current Intel chipsets, and multicore characteristics support CompactPCI’s increased performance with no added cost to keep thermal issues at bay.

Figure 2 is an example of one board that uses a high-end 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo CPU. With this kind of upgraded performance capability, newer CompactPCI boards have much potential for making systems work harder and more efficiently. For instance, a hospital records system using as many as 10 CompactPCI 2.16 single-core, single-slot boards could be upgraded to achieve the same performance with a single dual-slot, quad-core board.

Figure 2: Kontron CP308 3U CompactPCI CPU

CompactPCI is more than rugged enough for demanding medical applications. By using gas-tight, high-density pins and socket connectors, PCI signal reflections are minimal, which is a potential design consideration with card-edge or slot-based connectors. The high pin density (220 ground pins as defined in the COM Express specification) assures reliable shielding and grounding for low ground bounce and continuous operation in noisy environments. These connectors achieve strong, reliable mating between the board and the backplane. And since hospital systems and medical imaging machines frequently work around the clock, these fundamental design elements, along with a familiar computing model and simplified software design, work very well in demanding, high-compute power, 24/7 working environments.

10 does not have to mean game (or life) over

Overall, medical device designers have a pretty extensive list of preferences and requirements for the components and performance they design into their products. Not surprisingly, management of life cycles and supply chains is critical to any product’s design and ultimate success. With long-life platforms (available for 10 years or more) as a basic requirement for medical design, designers must choose components that will last through the 12-month or longer design cycle, as well as a potentially lengthy FDA approval and 10 years of production. Manufacturers are stepping up, working to extend life beyond the basic 10 years common in medical life requirements. Newly available COMs such as the Kontron microETXexpressDC include a CPU and chipset combo slated to be available through 2015, thus establishing a path to manage availability for 10 years and perhaps even beyond through special arrangement.

With advances in COMs and CompactPCI, as well as complex industry demands, medical imaging – and the medical information systems that store this data – will continue to evolve. Use of portable devices will grow, and centralized systems will become faster and more advanced at sharing stored information. The on-demand transfer of high-quality information establishes a more globalized view of medicine, and ultimately means only better and better care, diagnosis, and treatment for patients.

David Pursley is an Applications Engineer with Kontron. He is responsible for business development of Kontron’s MicroTCA, AdvancedTCA, CompactPCI, and ThinkIO product lines in North America and is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Previously, he held various positions as a Field Applications Engineer, Technical Marketing Engineer, and Marketing Manager. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering from Bucknell University and a Master’s degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Christine Van De Graaf is the Product Manager for Kontron America’s Embedded Modules Division located in Silicon Valley. Christine has close to a decade of experience working in the embedded computing technology industry and holds an MBA in Marketing Management from California State University East Bay, Hayward, CA.

Kontron
www.kontron.com
david.pursley@us.kontron.com
christine.vandegraaf@us.kontron