New-Tech Europe | May 2017

new products

blood flow dynamics for diagnostics. OctoPlus will benefit patients, doctors and OCT equipment manufacturers by increasing patient comfort during eye tests, reducing examination time and enabling doctors to make more timely decisions. For doctors, OctoPlus will more than double the eye surface captured in a single scan without sacrificing resolution, and will improve confidence in the diagnosis protocol. This will lead to more effective treatment decisions based on OCT angiography and will allow for earlier detection of peripheral pathologies like diabetic retinopathy. Specific advantages of OctoPlus include a 250 percent larger field of view compared to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved commercial Swept Source OCT (SS-OCT) and a +5dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in comparison with equipment currently available in Spectral-Domain OCT (SD-OCT). A further benefit of OctoPlus is that it saves 60 percent of the power used by previous designs. This reduces heat generation, improves the stability of OCT equipment and increases maintenance intervals. François Thouret, President of Professional Imaging at Teledyne e2v, said, “OctoPlus is a very exciting technology development for OCT. Within the next year, doctors will have wider access to functional imaging, which will benefit both patients and healthcare systems. Thinking beyond existing OCT markets, our ambition is to collaborate with partners to develop further innovation in OCT for emerging applications like neurology and dermatology.” The launch of OctoPlus follows the introduction of Teledyne e2v’s ADQ14OCT, the first 14bit digitizer for SS-OCT, enabling high speed and high depth imaging.

STMicroelectronics’ Chips Stand Guard in Haltian’s Trackerphone for Children and Seniors Motion-sensing and data-processing chips from STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, help increase family safety in the Snowfox trackerphone, a two-way portable communication device with locating capabilities designed for children and seniors by Haltian, a Finnish design and engineering start-up. The matchbox-sized, easy-to-carry trackerphone maps its wearer in real time in addition to letting you reach them by calling. A simple one-button control on the device prompts notifications and call requests to family members, who can monitor their loved ones through a free smartphone app that offers various map views, location history, and event timeline. ST’s MEMS accelerometer inside the trackerphone detectstheuseractivitytostartthelocationmeasurements while the ultra-low-power STM32 microcontroller makes sure everything works reliably on minimal energy use. The outstanding real-time performance and power efficiency of ST chips gives Snowfox users the perfect balance of functionality and battery life. “You simply cannot make compromises when you design a personal safety device,” said Pasi Leipälä, CEO and co-founder, Haltian. “Based on our extensive study of different manufacturers and their solutions, we chose an ultra-low-power STM32 microcontroller for its perfect combination of power conservation, rich set of peripherals, and optimum package size. Similarly, the ST accelerometer scored best for us in power consumption and performance.” “The Snowfox trackerphone enables children and seniors to remain active and stay connected, giving their family members peace of mind in keeping their loved ones safe,” said Iain Currie, Vice President North Europe Sales, STMicroelectronics. “Haltian’s decision to rely on ST’s high-performance, ultra-low-power chips confirms our enabling role in the development of innovative applications that help people get more from life.” ST’s state-of-the-art technologies have also contributed to the success of Haltian’s hardware prototyping

New-Tech Magazine Europe l 77