While many general practitioners and specialists would have to resort to expensive means such as MRI scans and X Rays, there is now a newer way of seeing through the human body and will be added to Doctors’ medical tools during internal examinations.
Credit: University of Edinburgh
The new tool comes in the form of a camera that detects light sources from inside the body. The camera is connected to the end of a long endoscope tube. The new camera can track light sources all the way from up to 20cm of tissue under normal conditions and has been made especially for the purpose of using endoscopes. This will allow for minimally invasive approaches towards healthcare and treating diseases faster and in a cheaper way. The beams from the camera can bounce off tissue and organs rather than go through them.
US News reports that the entire device is too early in its development for actual real-life usage. The data that the camera will read from bouncing off light onto the equipment will help Doctors in determining the location of the equipment. This tool will help in shaping the future of robotic surgery and will also help surgeons in guiding through to the process. Researchers with the Proteus Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration have developed the technology as part of ongoing study into the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases.
Kev Dhaliwal who is a professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland had mentioned that the technology has potential for use for a diverse set of applications and that it will be an easier way for Doctors to look into the problems of the human body without resorting to expensive methods that take too long and are too indecisive in their findings. The camera will take advantage of the technology that will make it easy to identify individual particles of light – photons. These detectors are thousands in number and are placed onto a single silicon chip. It will function in the same way as a digital camera does.
The technology is very sensitive in its detection of light and still requires proper calibration and optimization to pass through the human body. Hopefully, the device will be able to uncover deeper tissue from any part of the body and could go a long way into healthcare where patients will no longer have to spend grueling hours waiting for scans and be exposed to radiations eliminating all forms of risk and also saving money for patients and hospitals.
COMMENTS