Semiconductor technology for next-generation medical equipment research and development (1)

Semiconductor company developed cutting-edge technology allows engineers to design can improve human health conditions of equipment.

Rapidly rising health care costs, obesity and chronic diseases of all kinds, as well as popular, the large increase in the elderly population, all of these factors on those users affordable and reliable to various medical equipment needs gradually increase, including patient care equipment, medical imaging equipment, as well as a variety of inspection instruments. In modern history, never to be what it is today, the semiconductor industry is for various medical device development paving, save countless lives, while also significantly reducing healthcare costs.

Previous major medical device has been redesigned into today's portable devices, some devices like mobile phones, size and even smaller.

But like the ultrasonic system for medical devices of this kind can only be used in the past, hospitals and medical clinics in big cities, and now has spread to rural small medical clinics and ambulances. With medical equipment of miniaturization and portable requirements evolve, in order to support including weight and more light and smaller portable systems, such as the next generation of medical devices, semiconductor manufacturers face huge challenges, they must develop integrated chip.

Patient monitoring system

Regardless of the patients in hospitals, care facilities for the continuous observation of critically ill patients, and the cost to less than traditional bed care system.

Usually the patient monitoring system including EKG (electrocardiogram), blood pressure, body temperature, blood oxygen saturation and respiration monitoring system, sometimes also includes AED (automated electric shock defibrillator) functionality in these systems often contain a high resolution ADC (ADC), low noise amplifier, instrument amplifier, and have been adopted in this field for many years in various combinations of analog functions. These are mature, high-performance system, major semiconductor manufacturers to put a lot of research and development of many innovative chip.

In these systems are equipped with the ward at the same time, they are also becoming more and more small, or even be able to fly to the patient's belt.

In the near future, EKG, blood pressure and activity monitoring with wireless communication technology that allows patients to stay in their homes, and patient safety key signs and reliable real-time monitoring, which will substantially reduce the total cost of care.

As the baby boom era was born people gradually entered the aging, need special care of the increasing number of elderly, home monitoring devices demand is rapidly increasing.

According to the World Health Organization information on the 2006 global 60 years of ageing population has reached 6.5 billion. By 2025, the figure is expected to be increased to 12 million. In the United States, 65 years and older population in the total population is already occupy a larger proportion than ever before, but in the 21st century will be steady growth.

"Because of the growing ageing population, chronic disease care costs will be fast growth," ADI Healthcare Division of global strategic marketing manager Paul Errico said, "today is home to the design of medical devices to be able to monitor blood pressure, blood sugar levels and heart rate, when the device appears in the doctor's warning.

This will eliminate or reduce patient frequently go to the clinic or hospital doctor's fees, resulting from the doctor or hospital for further patients bring Gospel. ”

To become a major component of health care management, patient monitoring systems and other equipment, as well as other essential patient information resources to achieve full interoperability.

Despite extensive interoperability also failed to materialize, but this has become a medical and information technology industries need to give priority to solving the problem. For example, a company named Continua Health Alliance organization is working with the technology industry, the medical equipment industry and the healthcare industry's leading enterprise cooperation in order to establish an interoperability solution system.

Medical imaging

As technology continues to improve, including CT (computer x-ray tomography) scanners, and ultrasound systems, medical imaging applications continue to grow, thus doctor's analysis and Diagnostics provide clearer and more precise image of the human body.

In the field of medical imaging, a single system of number of channels increasing, rendered fast also focus on semiconductor companies to improve integration and reduce power consumption, and lower the cost of each channel. Ultrasound, CT, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography scanners), etc, all of these high performance systems are driving the standard device in power, speed, accuracy and dynamic range wait performance progress.