CT device chip market in the future, will look forward to? (1)

128 against 32, may separate the two numbers do not represent anything.

But when ADI launched early February target faster, clearer image of multi-slice CT equipment, current a/d converter chip (ADAS1128), its far more than the current maximum records (32) 128 data conversion channel, undoubtedly caused a big shock.

ADI Asia Pacific medical Enterprise senior business manager Zhou Wen sheng

"Global annual CT device shipments have thousands," ADI Asia Pacific medical Enterprise senior business manager Zhou Wen sheng tell EEWORLD.

At the same time, the 32 channel converters have been in circulation for many years, the market pie with multi-slice CT equipment market share. So, not much, pie dishes, seems is not a good thing.

At this point specifically targeting the multi-slice CT device converter chip ADAS1128 really be some height be cold?

Embarrassed and attractive market

In fact, medical electronics has always been a "major role", just from ADI's fiscal 2008 revenue, 26 billion, only about 5% of the shares belong to medical electronics, although A/D converter and amplifier provides no small market share, but also not suffice that the extent of. exultation

Furthermore, in relation to the Chinese market has its specificities: more to pharmaceutical and low-end appliance-based medical market share of the doomed Electronics is relatively small.

Nevertheless, foreign semiconductor manufacturers still warm, have joined to the medical industry's camp, but early in 2006 to the Intel-led The Continua Health set up by the Alliance, hopes to eliminate technical and commercial barriers, so that you can use the development of medical device.

With the population aging trend has brought the huge medical expenses and deficits, overburdened Governments began to control health care costs, and cost control limits the hospital's capacity to pay, so each medical device must be in the unit time is more patient imaging to reduce operating costs, while the "CT scan imaging technology will radically change diagnostic imaging equipment availability and affordability, and research institutions to Databeans" semiconductor company Research Director Susie Inouye says.

Higher number of CT system requirements increase processing image data acquisition channel number, thus providing higher channel integrated current/digital converter in next generation scanner design plays a key role in.

In General, CT Imaging combines special scanning x-ray source and advanced computer to generate human internal two-dimensional and three-dimensional image, makes the doctor can more easily diagnose diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal diseases.

While we are commonly referred to as layers, it means to receive through human x-ray receiver arrays, arrays of single-layer CT sink into a linear scan image slices only through long mobile can reproduce organ; after the progressive development of a 2-storey, 4-, 8-, 16-, and layer high means that the image quality improved, to diagnose and scanning flexibility increases, thereby reducing each scan time, time is short, natural x-ray radiation is less. The earliest multi-slice CT equipment can be traced back to 1998, Philips Medical introduces 32 and 40-scanning device. In 2006, 64-slice CT in the European market on a large number of sales. The 2007 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, when the market looks forward to the launch of 256 slice CT, Toshiba has unexpectedly introduced 320 CT.

Thus, improve the image quality of the most direct way is to expand the sensor array size (i.e. layers).

But due to equipment add more sensors, signal transmission to the processing engine of signal chain must increase electronic devices. At the same time, manufacturers must also improve its system standards, including the specific electronic component size, power consumption and performance. System one aspect of the performance enhancements may present challenges to the other side. Therefore, the appearance is smaller, faster, higher-performance and low power consumption of the new converter in engineering design demands increasingly evident, therefore, ADI's new current/digital converter chip — ADAS1128 came into being.

Capture the heart of the "beat"

"In the past, single CT image can only get organ slices," Paul is better.

And this is in stark contrast, the high number of CT systems to high-precision capture live images, such as beating heart, and so on, thus reducing the patient is exposed to x-rays of the time.

ADAS1128 is a 24-bit current-to-digital converter, it can use photodiode array signals into digital signals.

The device provides 128 data transfer channel, and the speed from 6kSPS (hits/sec), increased to 20kSPS, its support for the number of channels available on the market of any integrated converter solution of 4 times (128 bit).

"For a typical high-end CT system, high integration is crucial," said Paul is better.

Single-layer CT usually have 1000 receiver, 256 slice CT device has more than 250K data signal acquisition chain (or greater than 250000 photodiode current). So many layers of devices, there is no doubt that plagued past design because if you use discrete devices implementation systems, mechanical condition limits the data signal acquisition and integration of the chain. A 64-layer system requires approximately 64 k data signal chain, therefore, must consolidate more than 600 ADAS1128, if it is a relatively advanced scanner now about 250K data signal chain, you'll need about 2 000 such chips. At the same time, CT device layer number is increasing.

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