Applications of

graphical
processing unit
Advanced computer architecture assignment
Area of concentration:Medical imaging Technology

By,
Vasantha Meera.J
Final year ece
Nadar Saraswathi College of Engineering and Technology
Theni
Graphical processing unit(GPU)

Graphics cards with their GPU or graphics processor unit are one of the few
specialized processors that many people have installed in their computers. These
processors handle complicated calculations related to 2D and 3D graphics. In fact,
they have gotten so specialized that they are now better at rendering certain
calculations compared to the central processor. Because of this, there is now a
movement that is taking advantage of a computer's GPU to supplement a CPU and
speed up various tasks.

Applications of graphical processing unit in the medical field:

 Medical imaging technology

 Making cancer detection and treatment more precise and safer
 Detecting breast cancer in minutes with GPU-powered Ultrasound
 Advancing the state-of-the-art across medical imaging technologies
 PET scans

medical imaging technology:

For people facing the possibility of serious illnesses like cancer, accurate,
timely test results are vital. Exposure to radiation, a necessity to perform some tests
and treatments, may itself pose risks over time. At the very least, delays in imaging
processing and diagnosis can hinder both a hospital's efficiency and a patient's
peace of mind.

To address these challenges, graphics processing units (GPUs), most commonly

known as the engines that render rich, dynamic graphics for computer games are
today being used in a variety of medical imaging technologies. And they're well-
suited for the job.

The 3D images produced by CT, ultrasound, MRI and PET scans are
computationally intensive. GPUs use parallel processing to break down such
complex computing problems into many smaller tasks that run simultaneously.
This core capability is driving dramatic improvements across the spectrum of
medical imaging technologies and, ultimately, helping make the healthcare system
better for both providers and patients.
Making cancer detection and treatment more precise and safer:

One of the more advanced diagnostic tests for detecting cancer is fluorescent
tomography (DFT), which uses the absorption and scattering of light in tissues to
spot dangerous growths. One challenge with DFT is that light disperses as it
moves, so it can be difficult to see malignant cells that are deeper within the body.

To overcome this issue, researchers at the Applied Physics Institute at the

Russian Academy of Science developed algorithms to reconstruct the 3D position
of the fluorescent markers used in DFT. The result: they could pinpoint cancer
cells with greater accuracy.

"GPU technology has enabled us to dramatically reduce the amount of radiation exposure a
patient must receive, while speeding up the time that it takes to be scanned," said Steve
Jiang, UCSD associate professor of radiation oncology. "One of the biggest
beneficiaries of these advances is young children, who can now receive state-of-
the-art cancer treatment without being exposed to high doses of imaging radiation.

Detecting breast cancer in minutes with GPU-powered Ultrasound:

TechniScan, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based medical device company, has

developed a GPU-powered mammogram imaging system called Warm Bath
Ultrasound. The system, which uses rotating scanners to generate a three-
dimensional image of a patient's breast, captures eight to nine million voxels of
data. (A voxel is the 3D equivalent of a pixel.)

A traditional CPU-only system can process that amount of data in about 4.5
hours. It takes the GPU-based system just 20 minutes. In addition to providing a
clear, detailed image, that turnaround time delivers priceless peace of mind.
Ultrasound's use of sound waves instead of radiation also makes this approach
safer for the patient.
Advancing the state-of-the-art across medical imaging technologies:

Massachusetts General Hospital is experimenting with a new class of CT

imaging called iterative scanning, which uses a physics-based model. Instead of a
bi-directional reflection of X-rays, iterative scanning propagates the X-ray through
the body to get an integrated view. This requires a lot of computational
horsepower, but with a server running eight NVIDIA C2050 "Fermi" GPUs, Mass
General has the tools for the job.

"When you look at the kernel time [the amount of processor time requested by
an application], with all eight GPUs, the back projector is 4,000 times faster than a
quad-core CPU. So the potential speedup is enormous," said Dr. Homer Pien,
director of the research group for the radiology unit at Mass General.

To advance ultrasound, Siemens is expanding its boundaries into 3D. Coupled

with NVIDIA 3D Vision, which is powered by GPUs and includes custom glasses,
Siemen's syngo.fourSightWorkplace software delivers an immersive, high-
definition 3D view of a fetus. Physicians can more readily detect abnormalities and
parents can have a lifelike view of their child.

PET scans:

A project at Simon Fraser University in Canada found that processing of

Dynamic PET scans, where the scanner watched live tissue in the body to see how
it behaved, could be cut from many days to just 13 seconds using GPUs and
CUDA-based software algorithms. And at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, researchers are improving MRI scans by developing a reconstruction
algorithm that enhances image quality using GPU technology.

Conclusion:

For computer gamers, GPUs enable the creation and destruction of fantasy
worlds in the blink of an eye. For healthcare professionals and their patients,
medical imaging technologies running GPUs are delivering safer, faster, higher
quality care