Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
subsections, we detail the NSP component choices that address these system requirements. Although
these choices address the system requirements, the modular design allows for replacement of the indi-
vidual components as new technologies are developed with better specifications (Figure
2
).
7.4.1 digital Signal Processor
The central component to any computational system is the processor. The processor has the ability
to determine the speed, computational throughput, and power consumption of the entire system.
Moreover, it dictates what additional support devices will be used for the overall system design. For
the NSP, we chose the Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX) TMS320VC33 (C33) DSP. We chose this
processor because it is suitable for on-board BMI modeling in terms of computational needs, power
consumption, and versatility (Figure
7.14
).
Specifically, the C33 meets high speed and floating-point requirements because it is a floating-
point DSP capable of up to 200 mega-floating point operations per second (with over clocking). It
achieves such high speeds by taking advantage of its dedicated floating point/integer multiplier. In
addition, it works in tandem with the arithmetic logic unit, so that it has the ability to compute two
FIgURE 7.14:
Modules of BMI DSP system.
