AJA KONA XM 12G-SDI/HDMI Video I/O PCIe Card for AI/AR Medical Devices (Passive Cooling)

AJA KONA XM Overview

Directed at medical and healthcare applications, the KONA XM 12G-SDI/HDMI Video I/O PCIe Card from AJA provides ultralow-latency video I/O for custom applications. This card features passive cooling and is compatible with Windows and Linux OS, and provides high-quality 4K 12-bit 4:4:4 capture and playback via its HDMI 2.0 and 12G-SDI inputs and outputs. It is compatible with AI hardware platforms running NVIDIA s IDX and Holoscan for high-quality medical video for streaming surgical procedures, and it is certified as a medical device component. Utilize AJA s SDK to develop custom applications.

Quick Features

• DCI 4K/UHD 4K/2K/HD/SD capture and playback, up to 60p
• Ultralow latency: as low as sub-frame delay on processed video output
• Two unidirectional 12G-SDI connections with 16-channel embedded audio
• HDMI 2.0 input and output, with VESA support
• RGB 4:4:4 12-bit workflows supported
• YCbCr 4:2:2 10-bit workflows supported
• Windows and Linux support for OEM applications via the AJA SDK
• In-firmware microcontroller
• Supports graphics up to DCI 4K/UHD 4K with alpha channel
• VPID signaling for SDR/HDR transfer characteristics, colorimetry, and luminance via SDI
• HLG and HDR10 HDR support via HDMI
• Audio accessed through the AJA SDK
• This model features the passive cooling option

Next-Generation Medical Procedures with NVIDIA IGX and Holoscan

The KONA XM is a video I/O solution for NVIDIA s IGX edge computing AI hardware platform. KONA XM integrates seamlessly with NVIDIA Holoscan, a deployable software solution targeting IGX and other NVIDIA platforms. The combination of NVIDIA IGX and Holoscan makes it easy for medical device manufacturers to apply real time, low latency, high-performance AI-driven overlays to live video in a variety of medical devices and create innovative medical video solutions.

Ultralow Latency / Streaming DMA

The KONA XM supports application-driven streaming DMA (Direct Memory Access) the DMA operation happens directly between the video I/O and computer buffer, completely bypassing the on-card memory. This enables OEM developers to achieve as low as sub-frame latencies and a much simpler method of dealing with dynamic video (i.e. video whose frame rate may wander or generated video that needs to be generated much closer to the scan line it s output).

KONA XM Augmented Reality Assisted Surgery Workflow Diagram

In this workflow example, the video signal is coming into the KONA XM inside a medical device computer system from two separate video sources: a remotely controllable PTZ camera, and a robotic surgical device up to UHD 4K. The signal is then processed in the medical device s computing platform and the video signal with the AI/AR overlay is then fed into the surgical workstation.

IEC 60601-1-2 EMI/ESD Certification

The KONA XM has undergone rigorous testing to meet the IEC 60601-1-2 EMI/ESD standards required for medical device components.

AJA SDK

Developers who wish to use AJA s world-class SDK (Software Development Kit) can choose between two different methods to gain access and start putting their creativity to work with this rich, deep, and powerful set of video technologies. AJA s SDK is available on Windows, Linux, and macOS, including support for the latest Apple silicon.

In-Firmware Microcontroller

KONA XM OEM developers can run code directly on the card with the in-firmware microcontroller for supervisory and safety purposes and achieve ultralow latency or functionality that might need to exist before the system containing the card fully boots.

This feature makes the high-performance video processing of the KONA XM ideal for developing and testing artificial intelligence and augmented reality video playback without the need to create a fully finalized device. Medical device developer partners can use the in-firmware microcontroller to speed the development cycle.

KONA XM Operating Systems Compatibility

• Linux Ubuntu support for 20.04 LTS, 22.04
• Linux Rocky 8.5 and Rocky 9.1
• Windows 11, 10 and updates