Acoustic microscope

2003/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Teknologia
• Medikuntza

A microscope is presented that allows studying living tissues. Unlike most of the remaining microscopic techniques, biopsy and dyeing are not necessary, and it also serves to study intraforic tissues.

The technique is based on ultrasound. Ultrasound is emitted through a probe and the response of tissues to ultrasound is visualized in images. This allows to know the mechanical characteristics of the tissues, allowing to know more data than knowing its optical characteristics.

Researchers recognize that it has no resolution at the molecular level. The maximum resolution is 0.1 microns, about one-hundredth of the width of a red blood cell.

However, this technique has interesting applications in cardiology. An ultrasound camera has been enabled to enter the blood circulation, which can check whether the vessels are in danger of becoming clogged. The technique prepared for this application is called IVUS and is already used in several hospitals.