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Laser X-rays May Become A Reality
X-Rays have been in use as a medical imaging technique since approximately 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen found that he was able to make images of body structures like tissues and bones by putting electromagnetic waves through the body. He called the project �X� because he did not completely understand the composition of the �rays�. From that time forward, X-Rays have been the building block upon which medical imaging technology and medical imaging equipment have been created.
Even though the X-Ray has long been a basic medical imaging tool, this approach has always had the drawback that the images created are indistinct. The images require very careful examination and interpretation. Scientists have long searched for a way to enhance the quality of radiographic images.
Recent breakthroughs in the growth of laser X-Ray's have led to advancements that have the potential to enhance the quality of radiographic images. The light created by a laser would be bright enough to create strong, distinct contrasts on radiographic images. Furthermore, grouping the power of a laser beam with X-Rays can improve images by a factor of around one thousand. Medical imaging that could make the picture that much better might give us the resources to find abnormalities and cancers that you can not detect right now with our technology.
Until the last few years, the amount of power needed to make the right strength laser beam for this invention was so large that it was unrealistic to even try. However, because of new techniques, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder have developed a way to generate powerful laser beams from a �table top� size source of power. This makes laser X-Ray technology a workable reality.
The research team used a laser beam to set forth atoms from argon, a highly stable chemical element. The ejection of X-Rays was not strong enough to be of use. The group then shot the atoms back into the argon, causing a larger, more smooth stream of X-Rays of sufficient size to be useful to be emitted. This �boomerang� technique is now being handled to make a regular, very powerful source of X-Rays, grouped with laser beams.
The technique is not yet prepared for use in the clinical setting. More studying is needed to expand the technique into the hard X-Ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. When the task at hand has been overcome, the commercial laser X-Ray will follow.
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Article Source: MxGet Article Directory
Author's Bio
Jesse Fisher loves writing articles for his clients which includes Transamerican Medical, a business that resells Philips Medical equipment and parts. See also Medical Imaging News.
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