As AI continues to inject new vitality into the field of endoscopy, a large domestic medical equipment manufacturer is committed to developing an AI-assisted medical endoscope for diagnosis. In order to meet the demand for high-definition display and low latency display in medical images, the device main control board needs to support the simultaneous input of 2-channel MIPI-CSI with HD 12 million pixels in Android environment, and has an independent ISP to process images, supporting high-definition display and multi-screen display functions. In addition, due to the lack of customer’s own hardware strength, we hope that suppliers can provide personalized design services to assist development.

Deploying AI capabilities in endoscopic applications also presents technical challenges for the medical device manufacturer. In addition to the need for the main control board to have AI acceleration capability, the customer also needs the assistance of the supplier to support the development tools and technical services related to the NPU of the RK platform, as the customer is not familiar with the NPU of the RK platform.

Challenges faced

Real-time HD camera processing capability

Dual MIPI-CSI camera input in Android environment

AI algorithm and computing power support

Multi-screen HD display

The use of Arm platform NPU

Medical long life cycle supply

02 Advantech Solutions

To meet the needs of this manufacturer, Advantech provides ROM-6881 SMARC 2.1 core module solution. The solution uses the SMARC 2.1 core board standard launched by SGeT organization. The core board Size is Full Size, the length and width is 82*80mm, and it is connected to the base plate through the goldfinger connector, which is convenient for customers to complete installation. In addition, the PIN pin definition of the SMARC core board is the same, which is convenient for customers to upgrade and replace in the future.

ROM-6881 is based on the new RK3588 high-performance Arm platform, supports 4*Arm Cortex-A76 & 4*Arm Cortex-A55 main frequency 1.8GHz, built-in NPU (neural network processor) provides 6TOPS AI computing power, excellent performance in image encoding and decoding and image processing. Meet the endoscopic lightweight AI application computing power requirements. And the ROM-6881 supports four independent display, the maximum support 8K resolution display. In terms of image, it supports 4-channel MIPI-CSI, supports up to 12 megapixel HD cameras, provides independent ISP, more efficient processing of image content, and reduces latency.

In addition, ROM-6881 adopts strict industrial design, has rich I/O expansion resources, to meet the needs of peripheral medical applications, product support -40~85℃ wide temperature working environment, to provide more than 10 years of supply life cycle, to meet the needs of long-term supply of medical equipment.

 

Application scenario of Advantech ROM-6881 medical endoscope

03 Advantech Technical services

The smooth development of the project cannot be separated from a series of technical support provided by Advantech from product development to project landing. In this project, Advantech Design In service timely helped customers solve the problem that it was impossible to independently develop dual MIPI-CSI under Android environment. The dual MIPI-CSI simultaneous input function was not configured in the existing Android environment. After the customer proposed this requirement, Advantech technical team responded in time and customized this functional requirement for the customer, helping the customer speed up the project application landing.

In terms of AI, Advantech helps manufacturers quickly familiarize themselves with RKNN, the NPU development tool of the RK platform, quickly deploy the trained models, and realize the landing of AI applications. In terms of baseboard Design, Advantech provides detailed baseboard development information, including core board PIN OUT, Layout Checking List, Design Guide and other documents, for customers’ reference for quick design. After the manufacturer completes the baseboard design, Advantech also provides baseboard circuit diagram review service to help customers detect baseboard design errors and avoid baseboard design problems.