May 28, 2020
Endoscopy technology plays an important role in early diagnosis of diseases as well as therapeutic procedures such as gastrointestinal operations. Most endoscope systems come as a thin tube with a tiny camera attached at the end. During an endoscopy, endoscopes are inserted into a person’s body to diagnose a disease, screen for cancer, or to dispense treatment. Compared to other medical imaging system such as CT scans which are noninvasive, the endoscopic approach is invasive and individuals undergoing endoscopy may experience pain or discomfort. Therefore, technological advancement of endoscope equipment involves not only the new applications in therapeutic endoscopy, but also considers patient comfort.
The Client
A China medical equipment designer and manufacturer focused on endoscopy and ultrasound systems was looking for opportunities to introduce more accurate and efficient endoscope solutions. Since their founding in the early 2000s, they have established R&D centers around the world to integrate global advanced technologies and resources. Through innovation in technology, this medical imaging dedicated company has provided medical solutions for practitioners and patients worldwide.
Project Introduction
The requirement of the company’s new generation endoscope system was to adopt a high performance platform so as to make the most of their own intelligent staining technology, which combines optical and digital image processing to create more detailed endoscopic imaging. The system needed to support full HD resolution and a significant amount of storage space to capture and record the endoscope images and videos. Also, they required a stable supply of products to ensure the longevity of the systems. More importantly, to shorten the time to market and reduce development cost, they wanted a CPU module to fit their own carrier board, which focused on specific endoscope imaging functions.
ARBOR’s Offering and Service
The manufacturer has been ARBOR’s client for many years. Since their first purchase with ARBOR’s embedded systems, the high reliability of ARBOR products has earned their trust and earned repeated business from this client. This time they turned to ARBOR again. ARBOR’s EmETXe-i91M0 COM Express CPU module was selected for this project. With four cores and 3.00 GHz frequency, the featured 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i3-8100H processor delivers outstanding processing performance needed to handle the endoscopic operations. The module’s USB 3.1 specification was used for their optical device featuring a megapixel CMOS sensor. Coupled with Intel® UHD Graphics 630 chipset and support of 4K video output at 60Hz, the EmETXe-i91M0 allows the system to enable excellent visualization of endoscopic images. To fulfill the design requirement of sensors and switches, the CPU module’s digital I/O capability allows the system designers to control contacts without the need for an additional module. As for the form factor, the 125x95mm size is just an ideal fit for the system’s compact ergonomic design. Plus, ARBOR’s R&D team offered full support to help customize the BIOS per the client’s requirement.
Conclusion
The new-generation system delivers enhanced endoscopic image quality in full HD resolution. The result is a brighter image, higher precision, and smoother image transmission, thereby contributing to easier and faster diagnostic and treatment. By shortening the time required for visual inspection, the examinee’s discomfort can also be reduced. Above all, compared with a full custom design, the COM Express CPU module helped our client greatly reduce the development time and cost. It gave our client a cost advantage from the very start of the project.
Key Features
- Soldered onboard 8th Generation Intel® i7/i5/i3 processors
- Intel® WGI219LM PCIe GbE PHY w/ iAMT
- Dual Channels 24-bit LVDS or Analog RGB
- Support 3 independent displays
- 8.5V~20V Wide Range Voltage Input
- Wide Range Operating Temp.: -40 ~ 85°C
