If you’ve been hurt because of medical malpractice, anything that makes a diagnosis more likely and more accurate is rightly on the top of your list of good things. A new ultrasound technique has been shown to display live images of the insides of living cells, and this new technology could save lives in all new ways.
This new nanoscale technology uses shorter-than-optical wavelengths of sound to identify moving objects inside a cell. Unlike optical wavelengths that use light, these wavelengths are not as limited in size, allowing scientists to get closer than ever to the cellular scale. This imaging provides invaluable information and shows the behavior of individual cells at the nanoscale.
While most people are familiar with a typical ultrasound that looks into the body to locate masses, babies or to look at organs, this kind of ultrasound is like a high-powered, telescopic version that gives doctors and health care professionals insight to the workings of individual cells.
This new technology has the potential to provide information about the structure of cells, their behaviors and even mechanical properties never studied at this scale. It could reveal new information about why some cells act differently or change under a variety of circumstances.
Many believe that this new technique could help with the application of stem-cell transplants. It would show surgeons exactly where the cells need to go and how they are faring in their new environments. On top of this, it’s believed that doctors may be able to identify and diagnose cancer at the cellular level.
While this is still new technology, it does provide hope to many struggling with cellular disorders and diseases.
Source: Phys.Org, “New ultrasound technique is first to image inside live cells,” Emma Lowry, Dec. 21, 2016