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Sillicon Graphics
The Cabl3 Guy
Elite Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
Remember the days when SG was the awe of the world for 3d & high end graphics? Well what the hell happened, did they just throw in the towel & give up?
I remember having one SG workstation in Middle school & it was pretty highly regarded. Yet I haven't heard anything out of Sillicon Graphics for years or is it just me?
I remember having one SG workstation in Middle school & it was pretty highly regarded. Yet I haven't heard anything out of Sillicon Graphics for years or is it just me?
Comments
Secondly, and probably less of a factor to SGI, computer graphics is largely a solved problem now (ask your local researcher if you don't know what this means). SGI were big back when it was new and advancing all the time, but now, as with their powerful workstations, high-level graphics suitable for just about everyone are common place.
:)
Go to your local hospital, ask where the CT and MRI are. When you get there look at the manufacturer, if its made by GE chances are its a silicon graphics Octane computer powering the both of them.
They all run Irix 6.5 or a derrivitive of, and the GE applications software. They use the RISC 64 bit processor and have around a half a gig of RAM depending on the model. On the GE MRI's the Octane sits on the desk next to the monitor. In the CT's its inside the console.
However, they are nearing the end of their lifespan. The way the medical imaging technology works it takes about 3 years to properly design, test and impliment a diagnostic imaging device for clinical studies. Most of those Octane based systems are now getting close to reaching the end of their lifespan and will be upgraded in the near future if they havent already.
The new computer for the GE MRI's is an HP workstation with dual 2Ghz Pentium 4's about 2GB of RAM and a Geforce QuadroFX graphics processor. They fly compared to the Octanes, Ive got a lot of people wanting to upgrade to the newer computers, but its an expensive upgrade because they also have to already have the advanced gradient package and a new system cabinet that is not backwards compatable with the Octane computer.
After losing the rather large GE contract that has been in place for 10+ years, SGI is back to being high end graphics only.
a little more information, before the Octane I and II was the SGI Indigo Computer for the MRI. No offense to SGI, but that thing is a PIECE OF SHIT. I actually still have two customers with Indigo computers and its one hell of a mess. Everytime the power goes out, the GE applications software gets currupted, and I cant just put it on a UPS because the power plug is a GE special plug that looks like a serial cable. And I can barely every find parts for them anymore. I honestly dont know how I keep those systems running sometimes.
all this brought to you by your local MRI Engineer.
The software must be UNIX based so I don't expect they'll port to Wintel, SGI might keep that niche market.
I've also seen SGI computers as the control machine for NMR (nuclear magentic resonance, same thing as MRI in principle but used for chemical identification of organic compounds, not for imaging), those are not from GE, but can't remember the manufacturer (NMR is not a technique I've actually used in my own research). Those NMR spectroscopes weren't new however, I don't know if wintel performance has catched up so that newer NMR machines now run with "standard" hardware.
I guess that Silicon Graphics can remain viable as a niche player, but will never break out in the mainstream.
My training for IRIX is what put me into the Linux awareness. Our instructor always kept talking about it as a revolution... :)
Power to the People...
heh heh
Another friend has a couple units I wouldn't mind getting fingers on...
MIPS machines are still fun to use... :D
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SpiritOne [/i]
[B]Go to your local hospital, ask where the CT and MRI are. When you get there look at the manufacturer, if its made by GE chances are its a silicon graphics Octane computer powering the both of them.
all this brought to you by your local MRI Engineer. [/B][/QUOTE]
Do the new Open MRI's run on Open Box computers? or maybe Open Source? :)
(i hate MRI's by the way, open MRI's are a godsend)
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Entil'Zha [/i]
[B]Do the new Open MRI's run on Open Box computers? or maybe Open Source? :)
(i hate MRI's by the way, open MRI's are a godsend) [/B][/QUOTE]
lol, no, they use the same type of computers as their big brothers...
Open MRI's are more comfortable for those who are claustraphobic ect.. but realistically, they dont help you. The power of an MRI is how tight it can get your protons spinning, the more powerfull the magnet the tighter the spin. Standard clinical MRI is the 1.5T (Tesla) magnet, where most opens are less than .7T. However, there are some diagnostic magnets that are at 3T, a couple of 7T brain scanners, and I heard from a co-worker two hospitals one in Dallas and one in Chicago just put in a 10T and a 9.7T repsectively. Those are some fucking powerfull magnets.
[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by SpiritOne [/i]
[B]lol, no, they use the same type of computers as their big brothers...
Open MRI's are more comfortable for those who are claustraphobic ect.. but realistically, they dont help you. The power of an MRI is how tight it can get your protons spinning, the more powerfull the magnet the tighter the spin. Standard clinical MRI is the 1.5T (Tesla) magnet, where most opens are less than .7T. However, there are some diagnostic magnets that are at 3T, a couple of 7T brain scanners, and I heard from a co-worker two hospitals one in Dallas and one in Chicago just put in a 10T and a 9.7T repsectively. Those are some fucking powerfull magnets. [/B][/QUOTE] I have a titanium rod in my back could those magnets pry it along with my spine out of my body?
You cant "tunr off" a superconducting MRI magnet, but he forgot and took one of those little metal stools in the room. Sucked it out of his arm and hurt his shoulder in the process. The magnet had to be ramped down in order to get that out. He didnt work there long.
The second time was last year. It was one of my sites, the janitor was cleaning up and using one of those dustpans with the tall handle. He thought it was plastic. It had enough metal in it that when he picked it about a foot off the floor it got sucked in the back of my magnet. I got called in at about 9pm to get it out. This was about a month after knee surgery, so I called a few other guys for help. We had to uses ratcheting tie down straps and ratchet the thing out, it had maybe 12 ounces of metal in it.
To answer your question regarding the rod in your back. That all depends. Is it pure titanium (most implants SHOULD be) and are there any other pieces with it? Any metal screws ect...
Titatinium by itself is actually non-magnetic. In fact most of my non-mag tools are pure titanium. But therein lies the problem people have this misconception that titanium is the superstrong metal, in reality its really quite malleable (sp) and soft. You can tear up even a good wrench in about 2 years of good use. It just gets eaten up.
So basically the answer is, if its pure titanium and there is no magnetic metal in your back, you should be ok. But you will never get your back, chest, abdomen scanned by MRI because the metal would create a huge dark spot in the image that would mask the rest of what is trying to be imaged. You "might" be able to get your shoulders, brain and knee scanned, but I wouldnt go around and request it.
bottom line talk to the doc that did the surgery and ask if he used MR safe materials. If its been done in the last 8 years, they probably did. But thats not something I would risk. I was EXTREEMLY hesitent after my knee surgery and all they did was fix my acl. Its just a matter of knowing what "could" happen.
If that rod is magnetic you could get within say 3 meters of the bore and it would snatch you off your feet and pin you to the magnet and most likely tear flesh and bone in the process. If any small screws or fastners are magnetic, it could just rip them lose altogether. And thats just a 1-1.5T tesla magnet. One of the bigger stronger 3-7T's and it just yanks it out of your body. no joke. Not something to play around with.
Only draw back is they say I can't grow much beyond my current height. Im only about 5' 4" :/