Imaging equipment such as optical lab instrument that is used for both medical and industrial purposes are being quickly upgraded in term of what they can do. With all the demands of research nowadays, optical lab instrument is high technology equipment are indispensable in research laboratories worldwide.
Some optical lab instrument that laboratories cannot do without include dark-field microscopes and x-ray radiographs. These are especially handy in medical research, and can detect and diagnose diseases and conditions such as osteoporosis, breast cancer and even Alzheimer ’s disease. Aside from the medical field, they are also being used in the industrial field to detect possible explosives in luggage at airports and to locate cracks or areas of corrosion in buildings.
Scientists from the Paul Scherrer Institute or PSI, with the collaboration of the EPFL in Switzerland have created a new method of producing dark-field x-ray imaging at new wavelengths. The newly introduced nano-structured gratings will allow dark field images to be produced with already existing x-ray equipment found in hospitals and airports all over the world.
The difference between traditional x-ray images and dark field images is quite simple. Traditional x-ray images show a straightforward absorption contrast, while dark-field images illuminate the radiation of the material it is viewing, and it gives a more detailed view of the structures such as bone, tissue or alloys. The overall image it produces is quite remarkable, making dark-field optical lab instrument more valuable in terms of research.
With the onset of more detailed images of optical lab instruments, the specifics concerning osteoporosis, like bone density and hairline fractures can be easily detected. Cancer can also be diagnosed at a much earlier stage, because cancer cells emit a certain type of radiation that makes it stand out from the normal cells.
The new and much improved dark-field optical lab instrument will also enhance security and safety. With the advent of terrorist attacks, people around the world are skittish and on edge, especially at airports and stations. An upgrade of scanning equipment will put more people at ease, knowing that there is better equipment to detect sophisticated explosive devices that are hidden in luggage and carry-on hand bags. Dark field imaging can also aid in the detection of micro-cracks and corrosion in buildings, as well as on airplane wings and on the hulls of boats that were once invisible to the naked eye or with old equipment.
The new technique, as explained by a professor at EPFL and also a professor at the PSI, uses novel x-ray components, mostly in the form of nanostructured gratings that uses a broad energy spectrum. It still includes the standard range of energies in the usual x-ray equipment found in hospitals and airports, but better.
The researchers plan to team up with the Center for Biomedical Imaging (CIBM) and other associated hospitals to develop a way to adapt this dark-field technology to existing medical equipment. This way, the services provided by the establishments will be upgraded for the better, without necessarily having to purchase new and expensive equipment. Here is a link to the article