Coloured X-rays are here to give us a glimpse of what life would look like in a futuristic, sci-fi reality. Selfies...pfft! They are so 2017 now.
It’s time to move to coloured X-rays of the human body, thanks to a New Zealand-based company MARS Bioimaging.
The results were achieved by New Zealand researchers, using technology developed by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). With immense potential in the field of diagnostics, this kind of X-ray can help detect finer details of the body, according to a CERN statement.
This colour X-ray imaging technique could produce clearer and more accurate pictures and help doctors give their patients more accurate diagnoses.CERN
The technology, called Medipix3, was put to use by a father-son scientist duo, Professors Phil and Anthony Butler. They spent a decade perfecting it before they could finally achieve 3D images of the innards of the human body. Smaller versions of the MARS scanner have been used by researchers so far to look at bone, joints, cancer and diseases related to heart problems and strokes.
In all of these studies, promising early results suggest that when spectral imaging is routinely used in clinics it will enable more accurate diagnosis and personalisation of treatment.Professor Anthony Butler
The development means that now the field of medicine can hope for “high-resolution, high-contrast, very reliable images", further enhancing diagnosis and treatment.
The X-raying would be tested out on orthopaedic and rheumatology patients in New Zealand as part of a clinical trial. Once the trials are cleared, even then there remains a long time, perhaps years, before it can be made available for widespread usage.
(With inputs from MARS Bioimaging and CERN.)
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