Play of light opens a new window into the body
Taubes, G.
Science 276(5321): 1991-1993
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0036-8075 PMID: 9221505 Document Number: 469646
Part of a special section on imaging technologies. Researchers are developing techniques that use light at optical and near-infrared wavelengths to image and probe inside human tissue. Some light-based imaging techniques have not yet made it out of the laboratory, but others, such as means of mapping the oxygenation of the brain and other organs using light, are already in clinical tests. Conventional imaging methods depend on contrast agents, such as chemical or radioactive dyes, to make them sensitive to different structures or tissues. With light, every wavelength that is used is a new contrast agent, explains David Benaron of Stanford University. Ultimately, researchers hope that light will complement X rays in mammography and may even distinguish between benign and malignant tumors simply by their optical properties, thus eliminating the need for surgical biopsies. A number of light-based imaging techniques are discussed.