BioThreads: a novel VLIW-based chip multiprocessor for accelerating biomedical image processing applications.

We discuss BioThreads, a novel, configurable, extensible system-on-chip multiprocessor and its use in accelerating biomedical signal processing applications such as imaging photoplethysmography (IPPG). BioThreads is derived from the LE1 open-source VLIW chip multiprocessor and efficiently handles instruction, data and thread-level parallelism. In addition, it supports a novel mechanism for the dynamic creation, and allocation of software threads to uncommitted processor cores by implementing key POSIX Threads primitives directly in hardware, as custom instructions. In this study, the BioThreads core is used to accelerate the calculation of the oxygen saturation map of living tissue in an experimental setup consisting of a high speed image acquisition system, connected to an FPGA board and to a host system. Results demonstrate near-linear acceleration of the core kernels of the target blood perfusion assessment with increasing number of hardware threads. The BioThreads processor was implemented on both standard-cell and FPGA technologies; in the first case and for an issue width of two, full real-time performance is achieved with 4 cores whereas on a mid-range Xilinx Virtex6 device this is achieved with 10 dual-issue cores. An 8-core LE1 VLIW FPGA prototype of the system achieved 240 times faster execution time than the scalar Microblaze processor demonstrating the scalability of the proposed solution to a state-of-the-art FPGA vendor provided soft CPU core.

Development of effective photoplethysmographic measurement techniques: from contact to non-contact and from point to imaging.

This paper provides an overview of the most recent developments in photoplethysmography (PPG). Existing contact point measurement techniques, i.e. pulse oximetry probes, are contrasted with the next generation non-contact and imaging implementations, i.e. non-contact reflection and camera-based PPG. The development of effective PPG monitoring techniques relies on novel approaches to opto-physiological modeling.

Innovation for personalization: a healthcare case study.

This paper describes a research and innovation platform for the development of ideas relating to the investigation of blood perfusion in peripheral tissue. The Loughborough Innovation Platform for Health Technologies (LIPHT) can be used to demonstrate the use of the research and innovation pipe-line in more than one dimension. For this paper the first dimension considered is that of 'blue sky' idea through to their exploitation for the benefit of users and at the same time creating a wealth stream; the second dimension is the changing market as the ideas develop--from a hospital-based instrument operated by clinicians through to a point and click device for the use by the knowledgeable layman in the community. The starting point for these developments is a medical device known to many people as the 'finger clip' that measures arterial blood oxygen saturation; the end point is an optical device capable of imaging blood perfusion.

Prospective venox feasibility study.

Venox is a propriety Venous Oximetry system, capable of measuring peripheral venous oximetry. In this ongoing study, Venox is being compared against mixed central venous oximetry during human cardiac surgery, with Fibre optic reflectance spectrophotometry being used as the gold standard, placed in the pulmonary artery. A background review of the Pulse oximetry, current venous oximetry techniques and the potential advantage of the VENOX system are discussed. Lessons learnt, Preliminary results, and future plans are included in discussion.