STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CALIFORNIA, USA. An endoscope that has a width of a human hair has been developed by a team of researchers. This new development can provide more information on what really transpires in areas of the human body that has never been observed or seen before.
Joseph Kahn and colleagues from Stanford University, California created an endoscope from just a single optical fiber. This instrument is used to look inside the body. A typical endoscope usually consists of a bundle of fibers that transmit images and light. The main challenge in a single fiber endoscope is that it scrambles the light signal. In order to resolve this concern, their team developed a new algorithm that can reconstruct the images.
The prototype can show objects that have the diameter of a red blood cell. That is similar to 2.5 micrometers in size. The team already confirmed that they can still improve the resolution up to 0.3 micrometers. This kind of endoscope can be utilized to observe brain activities in minute details. It can even detect cancer cells.
The endoscope currently has a resolution that is 4 times that of similar devices. Since the telecoms industry has been very successful in squeezing more information content via fiber optic, the same capability can be applied in medical endoscopy.
| Invention | Single-fiber Endoscope |
|---|---|
| Organization | Stanford University, California, USA |
| Researcher | Joseph Kahn and Colleagues |
| Field(s) | Endoscopy, Medical Device, Biomedical Engineering, Optics, Fiber Optic |
| Further Information | New Scientist |
