Analog Devices’ new data acquisition chip gives faster, clearer
images for CT scanners
16 February 2009
Use of CT (computed tomography) scanning is increasing as technology
improvements provide clearer, more detailed pictures of the human body
for physician analysis and diagnosis. At the same time, healthcare
facilities are faced with a growing need for better quality, faster, and
more affordable diagnostic imaging equipment.
Analog Devices, Inc., (NYSE: ADI) a provider of data conversion
technology and longtime collaborator to the medical imaging industry, is
addressing these needs with a new current-to-digital converter chip that
enables high slice count CT systems to capture real-time moving images
with a high degree of accuracy and detail.
The ADAS1128 is a 24-bit current-to-digital converter that changes
photodiode array signals into digital signals. The product offers 128
data conversion channels, provides an unparalleled increase in speed
from 6kSPS (kilosamples per second) to 20kSPS, and supports four times
more channels (128 versus 32) than any other integrated converter
solution available on the market today. This level of performance and
integration means a 50 percent reduction of a CT detection system’s
electronics cost versus older designs.
“Higher slice count CT systems require an increase in the number of
data acquisition channels necessary to process images. The level of
integration of ADI’s ADAS1128 chip will enable lower cost CT systems by
reducing the cost per channel of the data acquisition circuits," said
Bernard Gordon, chairman of NeuroLogica Corporation, a provider of
medical imaging equipment for healthcare facilities and private
practices worldwide. A prominent pioneer in the medical imaging
industry, Gordon is also the founder and former CEO of Analogic
Corporation, a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced health and
security systems and subsystems sold primarily to Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs).
CT imaging combines special X-ray equipment with sophisticated
computers to produce internal 2D and 3D images of the human body. CT
scans of internal organs, bone, soft tissue, and blood vessels provide
more detailed images than X-ray exams, enabling physicians to more
easily diagnose problems that include cancer, cardiovascular disease,
and musculoskeletal disorders. Today, it is estimated that more than 62
million medical CT scans are done in the United States annually,
compared to three million in 1980.
“A higher slice count is one of the principal factors that enable
current CT scanners to provide more detailed images,” said Patrick
O’Doherty, healthcare segment director, Analog Devices. “With the
ADAS1128, diagnostic system designers can develop CT scanners that
produce clearer images while reducing overall scan time compared with
older machines. This is invaluable in critical care areas, such as
cardiology, neurology, and angiography. The dramatic system-level cost,
size, and power savings resulting from the ADAS1128 means that
world-class CT scan diagnostics will become more affordable and
practical in medical and security-sensitive environments throughout the
world.”
“Advancements in CT scan imaging will fundamentally change the
practice and economics of diagnostic imaging,” said Susie Inouye,
research director, Databeans, Inc., a leading semiconductor research
firm. “Current-to-digital converters that offer higher levels of channel
integration will play a vital role in the design of next-generation CT
scanners. By quadrupling the number of data conversion channels, ADI’s
new current-to-digital converter is setting a new performance benchmark
for CT detection system designs.”
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