Robust, Reliable Performance-Built-In

When you develop technology that may one day revolutionize the way surgery is performed, there's little room for error or poor-performing applications. Catching problems early, during development, is crucial for the software engineers at InSightec. Having applications fail during surgery is not an option. To help ensure reliability is built in, InSightec's engineers turn to DevPartner Studio.

Using focused ultrasound technology, InSightec has developed a completely non-invasive surgical procedure to treat cancerous and benign tumors. Its ExAblate™ 2000 delivers focused ultrasound energy into the human body that heats targeted tissue to the point that it goes through irreversible thermal coagulation (ablation) and is destroyed—all in a matter of seconds.

Treatment is performed under Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which provides the treating physician with continuous quality assurance feedback. InSightec's systems are compatible with General Electric MRI equipment, which they control during the procedure. Clinical trials are in progress for the treatment of breast cancer, breast fibroadenoma and brain tumors.

No Room for Error

	"In many cases, some memory corruption would result in a fault occurring much later, when it was very, very difficult to recognize the source of the problem. DevPartner Studio has helped us eliminate this situation." —Vladimir Gordon, Embedded Software Manager, InSightec

Developers at InSightec are well aware of how important application performance is during this precise procedure. According to Vladimir Gordon, embedded software manager for the company, "The most difficult part of my job is making sure application components function optimally to reach desired performance levels." He and other engineers were presented with the challenge of producing fast and high-quality code. They quickly surmised they needed tools for Microsoft development to help make their software more robust and high-performing.

That's when InSightec turned to Compuware DevPartner Studio Professional Edition. DevPartner Studio helps developers automatically detect, diagnose and facilitate resolution of software errors; maximize code performance; and ensure optimum code coverage and testing.

"DevPartner tools," Gordon says, "are easy to use and can be integrated quite effortlessly into the development process." InSightec routinely makes use of the automatic error detection, performance analysis and code coverage analysis capabilities found in the suite as well as the Performance and Coverage Remote Agent.

Powerful Tools Assure Performance Early On

DevPartner Studio automatic error detection is used on most development computers to check the code written by software engineers. The tool automatically pinpoints and analyzes errors in source code during development. It finds problems as they arise in native Windows code, capturing detailed analysis data at application runtime. Gordon describes a scenario in which DevPartner Studio proved especially helpful: "In many cases, some memory corruption would result in a fault occurring much later, when it was very, very difficult to recognize the source of the problem. DevPartner Studio has helped us eliminate this situation."

"We use the Performance and Coverage Remote Agent to check the performance of the system," Gordon says. "Because we have distributed tasks, we need to check our system communication." Performance and Coverage Remote Agent extends views beyond a single machine, allowing developers to trace transactions as they execute over client/server systems to obtain information on problems and performance issues.

	"Last year, when we tried to make our system faster in some executable models, we got five to seven times better performance based on information we received from DevPartner Studio." —Alex Kavushansky, Software Engineer, InSightec

DevPartner Studio performance analysis helps developers optimize the performance and usability of their software, including distributed applications. It automatically locates performance bottlenecks and reports application and component performance data in an accurate, intuitive interface. "Time profiling is very critical for us. When I ran DevPartner, I found time leaks in places I never expected," says Alex Kavushansky, software engineer. "Last year, when we tried to make our system faster in some executable models, we got five to seven times better performance based on information we received from DevPartner Studio."

"To track any misbehavior of the system, we use code coverage," Gordon states. Code coverage analysis identifies how much code was tested, how well it was tested and what wasn't tested. The tool helps developers focus testing where it's needed most—whether code check-in, unit or integration test, or final release.

Transitioning to .NET

When InSightec's engineers first began using DevPartner tools, they used them with Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 to develop Windows NT-compatible applications. Recognizing the need to conduct future development in Visual Studio .NET, they recently upgraded and purchased the new release of DevPartner Studio, which supports both Visual Studio 6 and .NET. Because DevPartner is tightly integrated into the Visual Studio IDE, InSightec is confident of a smooth transition to developing in .NET.

Better Applications, Better Developers

Not only do Gordon and Kavushansky believe DevPartner makes applications much faster and secure, they also believe the product makes them better developers. "DevPartner Studio makes my work more precise," Gordon says, "because in many cases when I found some problems with DevPartner, I tried hard not to recreate the same problems later on. It helps keep me focused and corrects my style."

InSightec software engineers also appreciate the powerful built-in assistance provided by DevPartner Studio. The product not only guides them through a wide spectrum of its own functionality, but also explains the possible causes of recognized problems and ways to correct the code.

The non-invasive surgical procedure pioneered by InSightec has been approved for use in Europe. It is presently in the final stages of FDA approval in the United States. This revolutionary technique may one day bring renewed hope to countless patients facing very real and very frightening medical crises.

For the InSightec software development team creating the applications that drive the new technology, one thing is certain: When they install their systems at hospitals around the world, they can rest assured their software has been thoroughly tested during development to perform when it's needed most—thanks to DevPartner Studio.