Customer Success Story - Medical Imaging
Application - CT - Many people today are familiar with the medical CT or CAT scan. Computed Tomography, originally known as Computed Axial Tomography, involves taking a large series of X-ray images around an axis of rotation to illustrate internal structures based on their relative ability to obstruct the beam. The X-ray data that is collected is processed by computer and depicted as a series of thin slices of the body. More modern CT imaging systems can go a step further, and compile the slice data into a three-dimensional representation of the scanned area, aiding in the visual diagnosis of abnormalities.
Customer Situation - Dedicated Computing was contacted by a major medical scanning equipment provider who faced a tight timeline to release a new high-performance CT operator console. Performance requirements and launch dates were not flexible, and their existing suppliers had unresolved quality issues.
Engagement Process - The company made a major decision: to enlist Dedicated Computing to migrate the product design, mid-program, from the existing proprietary system to a COTS (Commercial Off the Shelf) cluster model.
Design - We began designing a new custom chassis to fit the application’s requirements of short depth and quiet, cool operation. To achieve this, our engineers pioneered the use of a new Intel chipset made specifically to meet high thermal and acoustic requirements.
Solution - Our networking specialists met the challenge of this complex cluster design by implementing new serial-over-LAN system management standards in a unique, proprietary Linux environment. Their solution allowed all servers in the cluster to boot over the network with Linux while remaining within power, thermal and acoustic parameters.
The success of this project allowed the customer to dramatically change course mid-project and still meet their launch deadline with all the performance of the original specification.
Application - next-generation CT - Our next engagement with this customer involved a revolutionary CT product to be used for quick diagnosis of heart and stroke conditions and other situations in the fast-paced emergency room environment.
Customer Situation - To achieve the required display speed, every aspect of the scan had to be sped up, including the processing and display of image data from increasingly sophisticated scanning devices.
Design - The new design would use three times the power of the previous unit, while residing in the same enclosure as the previous system. These conditions required a major effort towards efficient thermal management.
Solution - Our engineers put prototype designs through a Highly Accelerated Lifecycle Testing (HALT) study. Proprietary elements of the customer’s product were integrated into our internal testing process, providing a thorough stress test under simulated production environment conditions.
When the final design was approved and put into production, the customer requested that the same product configuration be available for shipment to end users for a three-year period. This was a year beyond the market availability of many components, but through supply chain management and negotiation, we were able to achieve this goal.
The success of these projects lies in the the close interaction between companies from the initial stages resulting in an ideal product design, and in the quality engineering and manufacturing which produces higher-quality equipment and improved end-user satisfaction. Not least, the resulting products contribute to improved lifesaving patient care in hospitals around the world.