Aspire Medical Inc. is a cutting-edge medical device company focused on developing and commercializing solutions to treat Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Approximately 17 million people in the United States and just as many in Europe have been diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA, a condition characterized by frequent awakening during sleep, heavy snoring and daytime fatigue.

Challenge
Aspire Medical is developing new options for the treatment of OSA through minimally invasive surgical treatment techniques. The Advance™ System is a newly developed product and is currently under clinical trial in the United States. The treatment includes a device that is surgically implanted in the tongue and lower jaw. The purpose of the implant is to prevent obstruction of the upper airway thereby improving breathing during sleep.

Solution
In order to create the Advance System and visualize the insertion of the medical device, Aspire Medical relies on state-of-the-art computer graphics hardware to power sophisticated design and simulation software applications. To achieve the best results, this innovative company utilizes SolidWorks solid modeling software running on Dell Precision workstations powered by ATI FireGL™ graphics accelerators from AMD.

When tasked with the challenge of finding the best graphics solution that would meet the challenge of such work, Aspire Medical selected the ATI FireGL™ V7200 and the ATI FireGL™ V7350 workstation graphics accelerators from AMD. These high-end graphics cards feature two dual link outputs that are individually capable of driving ultra high-resolution widescreen monitors, and are optimized and certified for many sophisticated CAD and visualization applications.

“We had tested multiple possible solutions prior to finding the ideal fit with the ATI FireGL graphics accelerators,” said Jasper Jackson, Senior Project Engineer, Aspire Medical Inc. “Going in with a bit of skepticism; we were pleased to see both the ATI FireGL V7200 and the ATI FireGL V7350 exceed our expectations. Our workflow became consistently much smoother and the rapid interface really boiled down to better efficiency on our part in allowing us to provide fast and reliable service to our patients.” ATI FireGL boards deliver an elegant balance of efficiency and stability that results in exceptional quality of image and consistency of performance. Customers can expect an application running to work as expected or better.

Impact
“In our field, diagnosing rapidly and accurately is everything,” said Jackson. “And performing precise surgery is our business. With a powerful graphics processor, we have the clarity of image to deliver the results our patients expect. Our ATI FireGL graphics processors deliver an outstanding user experience with the reliability, performance and striking image quality required to consistently meet and exceed the needs of our patients”

AMD continues to work in partnership with software developers such as SolidWorks and workstation manufacturers like Dell, to ensure complete hardware solutions are tested, certified and optimized for the leading design and visualization applications.. The partnership between these companies is integral to ensure technology leadership and strong go-to-market relationships with joint customers.“ At Aspire, we find the combination of these three industry leaders is a ‘best of breed’ solution that not only meets but exceeds the requirements of our business. It is a true solution-set that offers performance, stability and value, ” said Jackson.