OMNIVISION, Silicon Line Partner on Optical Fiber Endoscope Cables

OMNIVISION and Silicon Line have teamed up to provide clinicians with long (2 to 5 meters), thin and flexible optical cables for endoscopes and catheters. Silicon Line’s SL85018 serializer/de-serializer (SerDes) IC provides data transmission for OMNIVISION’s high-resolution, full HD and 4K MIPI D-PHY-based image sensors, without having any significant heat or excessive power consumption.
 
The solution uses only one extremely thin optical fiber in place of 10 copper wires for ultra-thin, light and flexible cables between the endoscope camera and camera control unit (CCU). Silicon Line’s ultra-low power SerDes consumes only 24 mW at the camera end of the cable, minimizing heat generation. The SerDes IC is just 1.4 mm x 1.5 mm (bare die) or 5 mm x 5 mm (UBGA package) in size and can easily be incorporated into a HD/4K endoscope designs. Additionally, these optical cables provide the necessary EMC/EMI shielding from the patient as per IEC 60601 requirements.
 
“There is a significant need for higher resolution and image quality for gastrointestinal (GI) and airway management endoscopes, which usually use 1080p to 4K2K image sensors running at 60 frames per second. This requires high-speed data transfer of up to 16 Gbps over the length of the endoscope that can be up to 5 meters,” said Tehzeeb Gunja, director of medical marketing at OMNIVISION. “We are pleased to partner with Silicon Line to enable high bandwidth video to be transported over several meters with thin and flexible optical fiber cables that have low system power consumption and are cost-comparative versus copper cables.”
 
According to Ian Jackson, director of sales and marketing, Silicon Line, “Our optical link solution decreases time to market for our customer base for reusable endoscopes. The technology also supports dual camera operation over the same single fiber. Our expertise in the high-volume consumer market means the bill of materials cost is low so the high-volume reusable endoscope market is a good match for this technology.”
 
The cables will be available in mid-2022.

OMNIVISION is a global developer of semiconductor solutions, including advanced digital imaging, analog and touch & display technology.

Silicon Line GmbH develops ultra-low-power optical link technology enabling thin, light weight and long ultra-high-speed cables for consumer electronics, commercial, industrial and medical applications. The company develops and manufactures integrated circuits and modules that allow a simple, low-cost, high-volume assembly of active optical cables. Founded in 2005, Silicon Line is based in Munich, Germany, with offices in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, and the United States.