Problem:
A manufacturer of optical and laser systems asked us to develop a new generation of 2D laser galvo controller used in biological research to selectively bleach cells of interest. As an upgrade to a previous design that mostly resided within a PC application, it's principle requirement was to increase resolution 8 to 16 fold. A USB 2.0 link would continue to link the PC with the control subsystem. As a byproduct of higher resolution, the new architecture also needed significant frame memory and local DSP capability for various algorithms such as 3rd order polynomial correction. In addition, the system needed an RF link for control and telemetry based on Zigbee, Bluetooth or Ethernet standards.

Solution:
Our solution accepts high-bandwidth cell masks that are drawn with the PC-based application, polynomial corrects and slews the 2D galvanometers while firing the bleaching laser. Incoming video is digitized and compressed and transmitted to the USB interface and optionally to the telemetry sub-system. A TI C6000 series Digital Signal Processor carries out bleaching and video functions.

Results:
Researchers find the new system extremely effective for performing cutting-edge cell targeting at dozens of research facilities.