High precision x-rays

2008/01/21 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Teknologia
• Medikuntza
• Fisika

The x-ray technique is based on a simple idea: some rays collide with the body and do not reach the detector, others do not collide and arrive. In this way images are obtained inside the body, but not of great precision. With a technique called the dark zone, you can see how the striking rays diffuse. Through this information, a group of Swiss physicists have obtained accurate images that detect osteoporosis, breast cancer and other diseases. The difficulty lies in the possibility of

using the technique, since until now it was essential to use a fine optical instrument and a synchrotron for its application. However, the Swiss have managed to replace this tooling with nanostructures, which allows the use of the dark field technique in conventional x-ray devices. The image shows two X-rays of a chicken hut: the one on the left with the traditional technique and the one on the right with the dark zone method.

Franz Pfeiffer, EPFL/PSI