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Eight channel ultrasound receiver
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03/04/2007
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Analog Devices has launched the AD9271, a a complete eight channel ultrasound receiver said to reduce the size of the signal path in mobile ultrasound systems by 50% and to reduce power consumption by 25%.
Pam Aparo, Analog’s high speed signal processing marketing manager, said: “Before, the best you could do was to use two chips, with the ‘important’ stuff on one chip and the other chip doing a/d conversion. We’ve combined both aspects on one piece of silicon and that’s a pretty impressive thing.”
According to Aparo, the two chip approach has been needed in the past because the front end has a ‘massive amount of gain’. This has been overcome, Aparo continued, using a triple well cmos process and some ‘fussy’ layout. “And we get 12bit resolution at high sample rates,” she added.
Where the two chip solution drew 200mW/channel, the AD9271 reduces this to 150mW/channel with better performance. “Less noise and better range means doctors will now be able to see deeper into patients,” she noted.
The company is already talking with leading ultrasound device manufacturers, but extended approvals processes mean it is unlikely that equipment featuring the 9271 will appear before the end of 2008.
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Author
Graham Pitcher
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