NVIDIA GPU Computing and Acceleware Assist Boston Scientific Develop MRI-Safe Medical Devices


Challenge

Researchers at Boston Scientific are using Acceleware's solution with SPEAG's SEMCAD X simulation software to investigate the impact of design parameters of implantable medical devices when exposed to electromagnetic fields. Using advanced FDTD solvers and Acceleware's high performance platform, scientists hope to identify and understand the basic physical mechanisms.

Solution

Acceleware combines its proprietary solution with Schmid & Partner Engineering AG's (SPEAG) SEMCAD X simulation software and NVIDIA GPU computing technology, enabling engineers at Boston Scientific to supercharge their simulations by a factor of up to 25x compared to a CPU. NVIDIA's parallel architectural foundation allows Boston Scientific to tap into the high-performance computing power of NVIDIA GPUs for high speed processing; dramatically reducing the time required for design parameter investigations as each team member's desktop workstation now has the compute power of a cluster.

Impact

Researchers at Boston Scientific are better able to investigate the influence and mutual dependency of several design variables in a small set of simulations at high resolution. These advances foster the development of advanced new algorithms for increased spatial resolutions and the inclusion of biomedical processes inside the body, coupled with a huge decrease in simulation time. The result is MRI-safe devices, improving the lives of physicians and patients.

Nik Chavannes, Director of Software for SPEAG, stated: "Running electromagnetic simulations using NVIDIA hardware empowers faster processing times by factors of 25 or more - enabling the analysis and optimization of medical products applying a level of complexity which nobody dreamed of, even two years ago. NVIDIA's and Acceleware's solutions have opened completely new worlds for Computational Electromagnetics."

For more information about Acceleware, visit: www.acceleware.com.

For more information about Boston Scientific, visit: www.bostonscientific.com.

For more information about SPEAG's SEMCAD X software, visit: http://www.semcad.com/simulation/index.php.

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