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CHICAGO, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) – Researchers at Northwestern University have developed a new tool, called Contrast Angiography and Optical Coherence Spectroscopy (SC-OCTA), capable of detecting subtle changes in capillary organization allowing a diagnosis. early disease.
SC-OCTA, a 3D imaging technique, combines spectroscopy, which examines the different wavelengths or color spectra of visible light, with conventional optical coherence tomography (OCT), similar to ultrasound but using waveforms. bright instead of sound waves. As a radar, the OCT locates the tissue of interest, and spectroscopy characterizes it.
SC-OCTA has many advantages over conventional imaging: it does not rely on dyes injected for contrast or harmful radiation. Although many types of imagery work only if the area of interest is moving or totally motionless, SC-OCTA can take a clear picture of both. This allows him to image stagnant blood or moving organs, such as a beating heart.
"It can measure blood flow regardless of its speed, so movement is not a problem," said Vadim Backman, professor of biomedical engineering at the McCormick School of Engineering in Northwestern, who led l & # 39; study.
"SC-OCTA's unique ability to image non-circulating blood could also become a valuable tool for the burgeoning field of organoids, which studies how organs develop and respond to the disease," said student James Winkelmann. graduated from Backman's laboratory. author.
The only limitation of the new technology is that it can not produce images deeper than 1 millimeter.
The human body has more than 40 billion capillaries loaded with oxygen and nutrients to the ends of the human body. Unlike veins and arteries, capillaries are responsible for the exchange of oxygen or the supply of oxygen to organs and tissues of the body while evacuating carbon dioxide. A low level of oxygen in the blood can cause mild problems, such as headaches, to serious problems, such as heart failure.
The study was published in the journal Light: Science and Applications.
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