Diagnostic and Clinical Endoscopy

4K Video Endoscope Devices

This design example is architecting a 4K video endoscope with AMD solutions. This system supports a dual 4K video stream. The dual-4K image sensor on the camera head performs the image capture and the image signal processing is done in an AMD adaptive SOC.

The video streams are then fed to a one or more adaptive SoC devices like Versal AI Edge or Zynq™ UltraScale+™ devices to perform image pre-processing. The streams are then displayed near real-time using a DisplayPort or quad SDI interface to high-definition 4K monitors for the surgeon to view. The CCU performs picture, color and noise corrections including white balance, automatic brightness, gain control, IRIS control etc. Some of the typical pre-processing functions are shown here. There are different ways to partition the pre-processing functions depending on what the requirements are.

Benefits

Using AMD Versal AI Edge or Zynq Ultrascale+ provides several distinct advantages:

• Low latency, high bandwidth provides increased system performance with hardware acceleration for video analytics such as lens distortion correction, low latency rotation, point of view translation, object identification, comparison, counting, recognition, positioning, and measurement
• Integration of single-chip system processor and image processing reduces BOM cost and power consumption
• Optimal hardware/software partitioning reduces latency and bottlenecks by combining image/video processing, analytics, and camera control into a single device.
• Support for multiple connectivity standards – Quad SDI, HDMI, DisplayPort, SATA, USB, Ethernet and more

Image Management Functions with Kria SOMs

As part of post processing, various image management functions are performed on the raw video using AMD Kria™ System-on-Module (SOM) or adaptive SOC devices like ZU+ MPSOC with built-in video codec engines. The Kria SOM provides a much faster path to development time and time to production.

Adaptive SoCs for Video Endoscopy Processing

AMD solutions have significant platform opportunities to be major parts of video endoscopy processing systems:

• 4K60 video encoder for network-based video transfer
• Accelerated design productivity with a tightly integrated development tool flow using OpenCV, Vivado™ High-Level Synthesis, and IP Integrator tools
• Reduced time to integration with specialized ecosystem IP and software, and operating systems

Typically, an adaptive SoC device can produce much higher performance, bandwidth, and real-time capabilities for image pre-processing functions over an ASSP device. GPUs are widely used for image processing at the back-end, but AMD SoCs can dissipate significantly lower power than equivalent GPUs. Additionally, AMD is focused on reliability, safety, security, and the long-life support necessary for clinical equipment.