XBOX 360 used for cardiac research

A researcher at the University of Warwick says the Xbox 360 GPU could save thousands of pounds.


A new study by a University of Warwick researcher has demonstrated that researchers trying to model a range of processes could use the power of the Xbox 360 graphics chip as a much cheaper alternative to other forms of parallel processing hardware.

Dr Simon Scarle, a researcher in the University of Warwick's WMG Digital Laboratory who had previously worked as a software engineer at Microsoft's Rare development studio, wished to model how electrical excitations in the heart moved around damaged cardiac cells in order to investigate or even predict cardiac arrhythmias. These kind of simulations would normally require time on a dedicated parallel processing computer or thousands of pounds of investment in a parallel network of PCs.

However, Dr Scarle's time at Rare made him aware of the parallel processing power of the Xbox 360's Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), which he has now been successfully put into practice.

"This is a highly effective way of carrying out high end parallel computing on "domestic" hardware for cardiac simulations," said Dr Scarle. "Although major reworking of any previous code framework is required, the Xbox 360 is a very easy platform to develop for and this cost can easily be outweighed by the benefits in gained computational power and speed, as well as the relative ease of visualization of the system."

This isn't the first time a video game console has been used for medical research. Anyone with a PS3 can join the Folding@home program, allowing their idle console to help study the causes of diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis and many cancers.

Found on: virginmedia.com