Medical application of LabVIEW

[Himanshu]

Normally LabVIEW is used for physiological and medical data
acquisition for
example ECG, Blood Pressure, Body temperature etc. I would like to
extend the
domain of LabVIEW by adding hi tech medical imaging to it.

I have a few questions which I would like to ask the NI Engineers:
1. How do I interface an ultrasound sensor to LabVIEW, what DAQ device
will I
need to interface an Ultrasound transducer and receiver to LabVIEW?
2. How do I interface an Endoscope to LabVIEW. Since the endoscope
sensor gives
a vision output I am aware that the image can be grabbed using a IMAQ
vision
card? What more do I need to know?
3. What are the limitations of BioBench? As per my knowledge BioBench
is used
for ECG and other phy
siological data but is not used for Medical
Imaging.
Please inform me about the tests that can be performed on BioBench and
if it
can be used for medical imaging? Do the NI supply hardware for BioBench
and can
the hardware be purchased from NI/ Please do tell me the approximate
cost of
Hardware?
4. How do I interface a CT scan with LabVIEW platform? I am aware that
this is
farfetched idea but I would like to know if at all it is possible?
5. If I acquire the data serially then do I need a DAQ card for that
purpose
also or it can be done without a card just by using Serial VI’s?
6. I would like to know the cost of hardware that I will need to
interface the
endoscope and a ultrasound to the PC?

I hope the engineers at NI will appreciate the fact that I am trying
hard to
extend the domain of LabVIEW by making it a very cost effective option
for
Hospitals in India. It would be nice if I could get answers to all the
questions? Please make n
ecessary assumptions keeping in mind the
application
area is medical only, and the ultrasound and endoscope transducers will
be the
same as available in the market?

[Spencer S.]

Greetings,

Here at NI, we do appreciate your dedication to LabVIEW, but to provide you with the best answers to your questions, we are going to need some more information. Furthermore, some of your questions need to be posted to different forums.

1. How do I interface an ultrasound sensor to LabVIEW, what DAQ device will I need to interface an Ultrasound transducer and receiver to LabVIEW?

--This all depends on the type of signal the ultrasound sensor is outputting. Could you provide a description of this signal?

2. How do I interface an Endoscope to LabVIEW. Since the endoscope sensor gives a vision output I am aware that the image can be grabbed using a IMAQ vision card? What more do I need to know?

--You should post this question to the Vision forum.

3. What are the limitations of BioBench? As per my knowledge BioBench is used for ECG and other physiological data but is not used for Medical Imaging. Please inform me about the tests that can be performed on BioBench and if it can be used for medical imaging? Do the NI supply hardware for BioBench and can the hardware be purchased from NI/ Please do tell me the approximate cost of Hardware?

--This question should be posted to the BioBench forum.

4. How do I interface a CT scan with LabVIEW platform? I am aware that this is farfetched idea but I would like to know if at all it is possible?

--Again, what type of signal will this CT Scan be providing?

5. If I acquire the data serially then do I need a DAQ card for that purpose also or it can be done without a card just by using Serial VI�s?

--This all depends on the type of serial data to which you are refering. The Serial VIs are for RS232/485 serial port communication. If your serial data is a one bit stream of TTL data, you will need a digital I/O DAQ device (NI 653x family if the acquisition needs to be timed).

6. I would like to know the cost of hardware that I will need to interface the endoscope and a ultrasound to the PC?

--After we understand with what types of signals we are dealing, pricing the hardware will be possible.


Again, I think LabVIEW and NI hardware will be a good choice for your application, but more information is needed.

Thanks.

Spencer S.