Painless Laser Tissue Analysis Could Replace X-Rays Within Five Years
Replacing Needles with Raman Spectroscopy MIT is exploring the use of Raman spectroscopy to test diabetics' blood for glucose levels without drawing any blood. Other non-invasive diagnostic tools are employing the tech to test for everything from tumors to high cholesterol to tooth decay. Photos by Patrick Gillooly It's a typical scenario: you ask the doctor to make you feel better; he or she proceeds to stick you with needles and bombard you with radiation. But a new breed of portable devices painless laser beams could use Raman spectrometry to diagnose conditions inside the body and put an end to X-rays and even blood drawing, in just a few years. Raman spectroscopy is commonly used in chemistry and pharmaceutical research to identify molecules through the wavelength and intensity of laser light as it scatters when passing through them. But though it's been used to analyze human cadavers, the technology could soon become...