Programmable chip aids medicine

An engineer at Sheffield University in Britain is leading a project that could revolutionise the way scientists, medics and others see the world - by allowing the earlier detection of cancer, the instant analysis of medical screening tests, and permitting the emergency and security services to work effectively in murky surroundings.

It will also open broad tracts of science to high-quality imaging by enabling physicists to understand better the most fundamental interactions of matter, by providing better pictures from space, and probing in unprecedented detail the dynamics inside living cells.

The MI-3 project is focusing on a new generation of programmable chips that will produce images that can be transformed even before they leave the camera.

Active pixel sensors (APS) exploit the capabilities of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chips by allowing intelligent imaging that can focus down to individual pixels.

This project will also allow experts to view non-visible light, such as high-energy particles and x-rays and beyond to the ultraviolet spectrum and into the infrared.

The project is part of the British Research Council's Basic Technology Initiative and is a multidisciplinary research group.

The imaging sensors in products like digital cameras and camcorders, charged coupled devices (CCDs), are good for what they do but they are expensive and slow.

With CCDs the only control of the image quality is by varying the exposure time and the aperture.

With APS devices, the device can control read-out and each individual part of the image is treated.

Research teams are working on several applications, including developing a new method for imaging mammograms which reduces the x-ray dose needed to produce a good image.

The transistors in the CMOS chips can be programmed to ensure that the patient is exposed to the smallest possible dose.