Embedded + network + information: the huge potential of medical electronics

Hospital core and portable: challenging

Portable medical equipment due to its unique, on-chip requirements than conventional portable products, mainly has the following characteristics:

· Ultra low power consumption.

Because the body's physiological cycle length, sometimes take several hours to several dozens of hours of testing, ultra-low power consumption. "Some chip power small to 1mW. "The Chinese Academy of Sciences of the microelectronic devices microelectronics Division Director, Mr. Yang said," therefore choose a chip to 0.13 Micron and chips, the following process work mode also needs to be optimized, for example some signals is not necessary to use high-speed acquisition, rational power management mode. ”

· Low cost.

Some eat tripe chips (such as capsule endoscopy) is a one-time, and for the public service, thus reducing costs is very important. Measures is to integrate, and mass production, the chip'd configurable SoC.

· Intelligent.

Past passive chips. But now there is a source of Smart chips have emerged; the higher their level of integration, usually integrated sensors, AD, RF, etc. For example, Chongqing Jinshan company of capsule endoscopy, replaces the conventional endoscopy, in vivo per minute photo 1 ~ 2 times, and the image transmission over the air, take 8 hours.

· Miniaturization.

In order to facilitate patients to carry, or swallow your stomach (sometimes or ingested by children), need product miniaturization. Therefore, you should try to adopt S oC, SIP (System in package) or high density module. High-density integrated encounter some difficulties, such as multiple sensor placed in high density range, jamming complex: physical parameters, digital-analog, emission-reception, signal strength, how to achieve optimum processing and so on.

· Wireless communication and control.

In vivo and in vitro of communication is also important, with broad development prospects. For example, low-power wireless signal transmission and reception. Gastric endoscopy to the esophagus to the stomach to stay for more than ten hours no longer, involves the capsule of the direction of mirror control, Chongqing Jinshan main two ways: 1, 2, gravity, magnetic interference in vitro.

· Measurement of complexity and processing.

On the other hand, the measurement of body temperature, and better pulse is complex, cardiac signal, EEG signals small 0.3Hz, signal processing with difficulty. At the same time, but also to solve time and signal parameters. For example, child is the cold morning cough, cough is the wind in the evening.

· Package.

Because the package is and directly related to the human body, must be suitable for wearing.

Embedded + network + huge potential of information:

Despite the development of hospital core and medical electronics programme more difficult than other electronic products and much more, but its huge commercial prospects are attracting all the businessmen.

For example, Freescale has been a rough calculation, 2015, ordinary day can easily contact with 1000 more embedded processors, including the health and medical in occupies considerable proportion. The following look at the Freescale and Intel and other companies on the assumption of health care.

Medical/health programmes

"Multi-core technology can contribute to medical electronics.

"Intel Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Asia-Pacific Research Center, Wang Han, for example," now, x-rays, results looks blurry, you can let the 8 core, 16 nuclear help — photographs-from all angles. In the past, hospitals do complex scan now small health stations can do, don't have to wait in large hospitals.

In addition to image processing, computing, multicore industry plays Dr. Wang said that now use of drugs, patients become individualized for each person, just like the pulse of our ancient Hua Tuo, say what medicine, some money to some two, everyone has a different distribution of drugs, the future adoption of multi-core, the user's PC becomes Holy doctor Hua Tuo, can accurately process your personalized medicine, rather than uniform dose of dispensing pharmacies.

By multi-nuclear can also be measured your DNA. In health, embedded processor can accurately calculate the amount you eat. "The advantage of multiple cores are low power," Intel China embedded products division Wang Wo Manager added that "the Hospital operating room of the shadowless lamp, low power consumption of no fan of multi-core processor controls to reduce noise interference. ”

Freescale's CTO (Chief Technology Officer) LisaT.Su says, many devices enable diagnostic equipment has reached a new level, for example the ECG MoneBO Technologies development monitoring equipment, there are other companies develop portable g1b meter, etc, you can measure the patient's oxygen saturation in the blood.

There is also a company even launched GlucoBoy, a juvenile diabetes devices that glucose measurement and handheld video game.

Remote medical

Telemedicine is the use of technology to remotely monitor, diagnose, and sometimes even treatment technology, without the need of patients in the same manner.

The current need to case e-then, "we need to collect information from the past (electronic cases) translated into a more active remote testing, detection and prevention capabilities, Freescale and called it the" Wellness (Wellness). " Dr. LisaT.Su prospects embedded control for medical electronic contributions, "at present, remote medical usually want to use some of the portable or home diagnostic devices, measuring blood pressure, heart rate, and other vital signs for tracking. Then, you must upload the results to your PC and sent over the network to a doctor or health care provider to monitor the results. In this process, there are a lot of human intervention.

"Network technology continues to improve on this.

For example, the St. John's Hospital NewBrunswick Canada's measurement nurses at home recuperation of patients after the patient's vital signs to determine theirWhether the proper rehabilitation, or require additional assistance. This actually reduces the patient's medical costs and empty out of the hospital is very scarce postoperative beds, and make the patient more comfortable at home to rest. ”

Although today's telemedicine has made great progress, but there are still many things to do.

The next step is to let the smart device and system diagnosis is not required, the real implementation of telemedicine through automatic advanced treatment.

In automatic remote medical, drug therapies may, under the networking of sensors and devices collected information in real time to adjust.

Compare patients ' data in real time and historical data, to a reasonable extent, automatic adjustment of the dose.

Embedded intelligence not only play a role in the above areas, can also be achieved through remote medical robot surgery.

At present, by using the remove staff normal jitter of the joystick, the doctor will be able to carry out local robot surgery to help surgeons for more precise operation for precision.

Robotic surgery is currently available only in the patient and the doctor with a ward of the situation.

Future network latency and video problems will resolve, we hope to conduct remote robot surgery, because the medical experts can basically be globally on demand.

However, achieving this goal required conditions are not yet fully in place.

In order to do this, you must ensure that there is a nearly perfect latency high-quality network, to send the video image to control the robot. By 2015, this possibility will be greater. We will have a faster, more powerful multi-core processing and advanced networking capabilities, while also improving the network bandwidth and video compression. There is in processing, video and network features areas of progress, remote robot surgery will become possible.

Remote medical + artificial intelligence

Super computers can beat chess champion GaryKasparov because it stores a lot of past games, strategy and results.

Medical artificial intelligence based on many years of practical health care information and medical history of advanced algorithms, helping doctors make better decisions.

Medical artificial intelligence is not a true sense of the new concept.

In about 10 years ago, researchers have developed a system that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose heart attack risk, it is better than most senior cardiologist efficiency 10% higher. However, with embedded smart management and processing large amounts of data and richer data types, will make these systems more advanced diagnostic capabilities.

The next 10 years, we imagine healthcare artificial intelligence system not only can use complex algorithms for intelligent decision-making, but also by capturing, analyzing, and tuning ongoing real-time patient data stream real learning.

For example, researchers are testing the use of medical intelligence and sensor network to help patients with dementia live happier, healthier and safer lives. Alzheimer's patients of some common symptoms are forgetful and mental confusion, these sometimes put them at great risk. To solve this problem, researchers are developing a system that can from the home sensor networks automatically collecting patient data, and use medical artificial intelligence analysis data. Support all of this is to the patient's family into a "smart home": the sensor and the integration of daily objects to determine whether the patient is on the stove, or whether you open the refrigerator door, cabinets or; thermal and pressure sensor will determine if the patient is sitting in a Chair, lying in bed or a walk in the House; biological sensors measure the heart rate and body temperature, and other vital signs that tell us of their condition. From these sensors to provide real-time data of a patient in indoor places and mental state of crisp picture. If the artificial intelligence system detected an unusual situation, it will automatically trigger an emergency response to remind patients to eat or medication, or if at one time, there is no record of any activities indoors, it is automatically dialed emergency calls.

"Health care industry contains a trillion dollars of business opportunities.

"Served the Bush and Clinton economist Paul · Pilzer in the 5th wave to wealth". China in the 21st century are also faced with how to effectively improve people's health challenges, for example, the State Council enacted the national medium-and long-term science and technology development program outline (2006 to 2020) ", disease prevention drug strategy forward, focus on the development of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and other major diseases, early-warning and diagnosis, disease risk factors early intervention, and other key technologies. However, our medical electronics has just started, and 90% of the medical device market is held by foreign companies to open up the medical market!, research and development of independent intellectual property rights of medical equipment in China, in China, became an important mission.