By Casey Lynch Apr 9, 2007, 18:20 GMT
IBM announced today the Cell Broadband Engine, the multi-core microprocessor that runs the PlayStation 3, will be implemented in medical imaging software to speed up object recognition and increase image precision.
The PS3 can do more than play killer next-gen games - just ask Mayo Clinic.
The following is from IBM’s press release:
Collaborators from Mayo Clinic and IBM have exploited parallel computer architecture and memory bandwidth to dramatically speed the processing of 3-D medical images. The advance significantly aids image registration -- the computer-enhanced alignment of two medical images obtained at different dates or by using different imaging devices, in three-dimensional space. With the images properly aligned over one another, a radiologist can more easily detect structural changes such as the growth or shrinkage of tumors.
The results will be presented in full in a joint presentation by Mayo Clinic and IBM at the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging in Washington, D.C., April 12-15.
What the heck does that all mean?
Well, basically the imaging process Mayo Clinic and IBM conducted took approximately 7 hours using typical processor configuration, while it only took 516 seconds using an adapted algorithm application optimized for the Cell.
That's progress.
For more details and the entire press release, visit IBM’s website here.
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