JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers have developed a mini acoustic detector to reduce the size of medical ultrasound and photoacoustic devices while producing higher resolution, the northern Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) said Thursday.
The innovation, published in the journal Nature Communications last week, uses optical components, instead of electrical ones, to guarantee that the single-focused ultrasound transducer can detect with higher resolution.
The research team demonstrated that the miniaturized detector is capable of doing tomographic imaging of an object of below 20 micrometers in width.
With the aid of other technologies, these tiny sensing elements could be fabricated into a 1 mm device, with the potential of applying to endoscopes and laparoscopes in minimally invasive surgeries, the study said.
The new technology is also possible for improving the resolution of additional diagnostic methods such as vascular imaging. ■
