Product category:
Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and DSPs
News Release from: AMI Semiconductor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 12 July 2006
Neuroscientists sign up for ASIC design
Medical device company Northstar Neuroscience has selected AMI Semiconductor to design and manufacture an ASIC for its novel stroke recovery system.
Medical device company Northstar Neuroscience has selected AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) to design and manufacture an ASIC for the Northstar Stroke Recovery System Allen Wyler, MD, a neurosurgeon who is Northstar Neuroscience's Medical Director, commented on Northstar's investigational therapy: "After a stroke, the brain attempts to compensate for the damaged area by reorganising through a process known as neuroplasticity"
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 26 Mar 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Clock generators for embedded communications
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has expanded its clock generator product line with a broad family of low-cost 1- and 2-phase-lock loop (PLL) clock ICs.
Clock generator saves space in portable designs
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has introduced a low-cost clock generator that will save space and reduce component count in high-performance MPEG-2 applications such as DVD players.
"However, many survivors of stroke remain impaired for the rest of their lives".
"We have spent years developing a device system which is intended to help improve function in stroke survivors months or even years after their strokes".
The American Stroke Association estimates that about 700,000 people in the US experience a stroke every year.
Further reading
Extended-temperature interface for AS-i bus
AMI Semiconductor (AMIS) has expanded its family of reprogrammable interface ICs certified for Actuator Sensor-interface (AS-i) bus applications by launching an extended temperature device.
PCI core migrates FPGA designs painlessly
Designers using high-density, advanced FPGAs with embedded PCI cores can now cost-effectively and easily transition to an ASIC for volume production.
The estimated direct and indirect healthcare costs related to stroke was over $56 billion in 2005.
Initial research has demonstrated that cortical stimulation of healthy brain tissue near the area damaged by the stroke, in combination with rehabilitation, may facilitate neuroplasticity and improve function.
Northstar's stroke therapy device involves the precise delivery of low levels of electricity to the surface of the brain (the cortex) via an implanted stimulator system.
Results from two feasibility studies presented at medical congresses this year assessed the safety of cortical stimulation in the rehabilitation of chronic stroke patients and suggest a greater improvement in recovery of hand/arm function compared with controls.
The company is currently enrolling patients in a larger pivotal clinical study to confirm these results.
The ultra-low-power-consumption ASIC for the Northstar system is being designed and produced by AMIS at the company's Carlsbad, California design centre and Pocatello, Idaho manufacturing facility.
"After an intense evaluation of a number of potential partners serving this market, it became clear that AMI Semiconductor offers outstanding capabilities, custom production processes and experience as a manufacturer of ASICs for implantable medical devices", said Alan Levy, PhD, President and CEO of Northstar Neuroscience.
"Numerous medical device companies have come to rely on AMI Semiconductor to meet the critical technical requirements of implantable devices", said Robert Tong, Senior Vice President of the medical and wireless product line at AMIS.
"We are very excited to partner with Northstar Neuroscience to bring their potentially life-changing product to patients".
"We have worked diligently to develop a successful track record in delivering critical integrated circuits on time and above the required quality levels".
"We look forward to continuing that success with Northstar".
Patients are currently being enrolled in a clinical trial of the implantable stroke therapy neurostimulator.
• AMI Semiconductor: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
