Majority of medical products have some type of semiconductor in it. In fact, the semiconductor content continues to increase in these myriad of products. Programmable logic devices (PLDs) continue to see a much higher rate of adoption than other semiconductor types. PLDs offer a viable and powerful alternative to both ASICs and ASSPs in medical equipment development. PLDs eliminate the up-front NRE costs and minimum order quantities associated with ASICs, and the costly risks of multiple silicon iterations through the capability to be reprogrammed as needed during the design process.
When compared to ASSPs, PLDs provide the design flexibility and board integration opportunities to differentiate against competing medical equipment manufacturers. Additionally, PLDs can be upgraded in the field as standards evolve or requirements change. Also, the ability to re-use a common hardware platform allows designers to create differentiated systems which support a variety of feature sets with one basic design, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs. Whether designing a CT machine or patient monitoring equipment, programmable logic is a flexible, low-risk path to successful system design—offering optimum cost efficiencies while providing value-added differentiating capabilities versus other medical equipment manufacturers.
Altera provides a comprehensive product portfolio to accelerate medical application development—industrial reference designs, Quartus® II software and SOPC Builder Development Tools Suite, 32-bit Nios® II embedded processor, on-board memory, a vast set of I/O pins, and a wide range of standard and industrial-medical intellectual property (IP) from Altera and our partners.
Our configurable Nios II embedded processor allows you to easily create a microprocessor-based system that is customized to match your application requirements. Our SOPC Builder system generation tool automates IP configuration and integration. Together with our partners, we offer more than 200 IP cores that you can use off-the-shelf to create a hardware system in just minutes using SOPC Builder. With our Quartus II design software, you can minimize power, optimize speed, and reduce system compile times in your FPGA design.
To learn more about what medical products, solutions, IP, and development tool that Altera has to offer, please contact your local Altera sales representative or distributor office.
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