A hand held device called the ‘infrascanner’ is hot off the press; it can detect blood clots using ‘near infra-red’ light with a beam that can penetrate the skull up to three centimetres. As blood clots absorb near infra-red light differently to normal brain tissue this change in the signal can be picked up and bounced back to the scanner.
I’m looking forward to more results about this technology as rapid detection is paramount with head injury patients. It’s currently being trailed in India. For more information about this great piece of technology see the BBC report.
8 comments:
I had a dear friend die from an embolism at the ripe age of 40 a few years ago, leaving a distraught husband and two young children. I wonder if such a device could detect something like this and save countless lives via early detection. Amazing where technology leads us, both positively and negatively, alas for the latter.
Ian
Hi Michelle,
Sounds like something from Star Trek, but it would be wonderful if it works out and much safer to boot.
Regards
jmb
looks like my hair clippers....
This sounds fantastic and will be really useful. I am a trustee of Headway Cambridgeshire which provides rehabilitative care for patients with head injury, it is essential that a correct diagnosis can be made asap.
Sounds good. I could use a scan to see where my brain has got to...
sounds exciting
Don't want to know about this, Dr Michelle. Some things are best not thought about but damn glad they're available.
This is VERY cool technology!
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