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News
& Ideas
TERAHERTZ IMAGING
THz wave to better health diagnosis
Xi-Cheng Zhang, the J. Erik Jonsson ’22 Distinguished
Professor of Science, and a team of researchers are the first
to image tissue using single pulses of terahertz (THz or T-ray)
radiation. The technique will improve diagnostic time from hours
or days, down to minutes or seconds.
The researchers combined T-rays—those within
the far-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum—with
a new technique that delivers single-picosecond-long “blasts”
or “chirped pulses” of light that allows the full THz
spectrum to be measured. Using a single pulse of THz radiation,
only a few picoseconds long, allows for better and faster imaging
results in biological tissue. The techniques could one day lead
to computerized medical diagnoses in a physician’s office.
The unique properties of THz radiation allow
it to “see” farther and in more detail than imaging
methods such as X-rays, ultrasound, and radar. For example,
T-rays have been demonstrated to effectively image skin burn
severity, tooth cavities, and skin cancer.
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The unique properties of THz radiation allow it
to “see” farther and in more detail than imaging methods
such as X-rays, ultrasound, and radar. For example, T-rays have
been demonstrated to effectively image skin burn severity, tooth
cavities, and skin cancer.
“Our idea is to fully automate analysis of
these images,” says Zhang. “One day it could lead to
diagnostic tools based on the THz response.”
In combination with the chirped probe, the technique
offers highly detailed biological images, even if a patient moves
during the procedure. The images can be layered and mapped in
color to produce high-resolution images for biomedical applications.
A picture of a skin cancer tumor, for example,
would be pieced together using multiple T-ray images at different
angles. This method creates an accurate 3-D picture that gives
a researcher or diagnostician a better understanding of the disease
and how far it has spread.
CONTACT: Theresa Bourgeois, (518) 276-2840,
bourgt@rpi.edu
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