Laser Blood Scan Could Help Identify Malaria and Other Diseases 34
sciencehabit writes "Combining lasers with a principle discovered by Alexander Graham Bell over 100 years ago, researchers have developed a new way to collect high-resolution information about the shape of red blood cells. The lasers pulse every 760 nanoseconds to induce red blood cells to emit sound waves with frequencies of more than 100MHz, one of the highest frequencies ever achieved. Testing the laser on blood samples collected from a group of human volunteers, researchers showed that the high-frequency sound waves emitted by red blood cells in the blood samples revealed the tiniest details about the cells' shapes. Because diseases like malaria can alter the shape of the body's cells, the device may provide a way to accurately diagnose various blood disorders before it's too late."
Abstract (actual paper is paywalled).
would be super cool if.... (Score:4, Interesting)
Re: Interesting (Score:4, Interesting)
Part of the diagnosis of malaria involves having a skilled operator perform exhaustive microscopy on the blood film. Having worked as a haematologist I can assure you it is fairly easy to diagnose malaria but a pain in the arse to exclude it. Any test which can improve this process is welcome.