Texas Instruments Introduces Handheld Ultrasound Systems

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) has introduced two integrated analog front ends (AFEs) for handheld ultrasound systems. The members of TI’s AFE family for medical ultrasound, the 16-channel AFE5851 and the 8-channel AFE5801 bring breakthrough power efficiency and smaller footprint to support the market for handheld ultrasound systems that can fit in a doctor’s pocket. The AFE5851 features 39 mW/channel at 32.5 MSPS and integrates 16 variable gain amplifiers (VGAs) and eight 12-bit, 65-MSPS analog to digital converters (ADCs). The ADC is shared between two VGAs and each VGA differential output is sampled at alternate clock cycles to optimize power efficiency. The ADC has scalable power consumption to further lower power use with lower sampling rates. The AFE5851’s high channel count and low-power features allow for increased channel density in handheld ultrasound systems. The second device, the AFE5801, features 50 mW/channel at 30 MSPS and 58 mW/channel at 50 MSPS and integrates eight VGAs and eight 12-bit, 65 MSPS high-speed ADCs with LVDS data outputs.



The two AFE58xx devices are the analog front ends currently available in the market with a 70 percent smaller footprint than competitive analog front ends for ultrasound systems and 40 percent smaller than previously introduced devices in the AFE58xx family. TI’s AFE58xx family, introduced in March 2008, allows the design of innovative, affordable ultrasound systems with smallest size, superior image quality and reduced power consumption across all ultrasound market segments. The AFE5805 serves the portable to mid-range ultrasound market. The AFE5804 is pin-to-pin compatible to ease migration to an even lower power solution, should a design require it.



Both the AFE5851 and AFE5801 are available in a 9 mm x 9 mm, 64-QFN package with a suggested resale price of $52 each for the AFE5801 and $92 for the AFE5851, both in 1000-unit quantities. Samples and EVMs for both devices are available now, with volume production for the AFE5851 scheduled for December 2008, and March 2009 for the AFE5801.