Firmware for Surgical Neuro-Monitoring

This project included multiple phases. The first phase consisted primarily of firmware development for several controllers for a spinal surgery neuro-monitoring device. The subject device is used during spinal surgery for nerve avoidance and navigation, nerve and spinal cord monitoring, and peripheral sensory nerve monitoring. Features of the device include EMG (electromyography), MEP (motor evoked potentials), and SSEP (somatosensory evoked potentials) modalities. These modalities require careful and precise control of patient stimulation current, data acquisition and signal processing.

Firmware was developed for a variety of controllers for multiple purposes. One controller was responsible for analog-to-digital conversions (ADC) and data reporting. Another controller was responsible for managing a peripheral interface with other hardware connections, commanding LEDs, monitoring status, reporting this information back to a host controller, and being commanded by the host controller.

The second phase of the project consisted primarily of debugging and troubleshooting other parts of the system. This included work on an Analog Devices Sharc DSP (Embedded C) and Intel Cyclone V FPGA (VHDL). Debugging these systems also required knowledge of state machines, TCP/IP, and SPI.

The final phase consisted of verification testing against a test plan. This phase required knowledge of setup and operation of various test equipment.

Technologies

Competencies