Converters Boost Performance of Medical Imaging Systems

Analog Devices, Inc. has announced the rollout of new data converters aimed at applications ranging from medical imaging systems to industrial measuring equipment.

The new rollout includes a big performance boost for ADI’s existing PulSAR family, as well as high speed and precision for a new sigma-delta data converter. The new PulSAR devices are aimed at imaging technologies ranging from CT scans and MRIs to digital X-rays and ultrasounds, while the new sigma-delta converter targets such industrial applications as weigh scales, data acquisition systems and pressure measurement devices.

ADI’s fastest new PulSAR device, known as the AD7626, reportedly provides a huge performance boost for medical imaging systems because it delivers about 2.5 times as much speed as predecessors. The ADC (analog-to-digital converter), which offers low-cost 16-bit capture performance, achieves sample rates of 10 MSPS (millions of samples per second), which is said to be critically important for next-generation imaging systems.

“There’s been pressure to develop higher-speed converters at the same price as their predecessors,” says Wayne Talley, product marketing manager for precision ADCs at Analog Devices. “Customers don’t want to spend more money for their CT machines, even though they’re going from 16-slice machines to 256-slice machines.”

As such, Talley says, ADI made the jump from 4 MSPS to 10 MSPS, but did so without sacrificing accuracy or cost. Similarly, the company is also rolling out another PulSAR ADC, the AD7625, which operates at 6 MSPS.

At the same time, ADI also introduced the AD7190, a sigma-delta ADC that combines high data rate with “noise-free” resolution across all input voltages ranging from 40 mV to 5V. ADI says the AD7190’s performance allows designers to measure much smaller signals faster and with greater accuracy. As a result, it is said to be well-suited for precision instruments, such as weigh scales, as well as process measurement and control modules, scientific instruments and medical monitoring devices.