Off-the-shelf hardware and software helps keep eye on the prize

OptiMedica has created a Pascal photocoagulator, an integrated pattern-scanning laser system designed to treat retinal diseases using a single spot or a predetermined pattern array of up to 56 spots. The Pascal technology platform is based upon the use of a proprietary, semiautomated, pattern-generation method that uses short 532 nm laser pulses. The Pascal design project have used national Instrument's field programmable gate array (FPGA) hardware developed within its LabVIEW programming environment as its main controller. The LabVIEW FPGA module allows the designer to directly synthesize code from LabVIEW to the FPGA hardware, all from within its graphic-based programming environment. The programmed FPGA comprises independent circuitry that allows for simultaneous measurement and control of the Pascal system. Pascal system uses a liquid-crystal touch-screen display that allows the user to select treatment parameters from a single panel.