Korean scientists develop technique to peer through mouse skull using light

A lot of people worry about the radiation we're exposed to when we get X-rays and CT scans.
For that reason, Korean researchers have been working on a new way to look inside the body using light waves.
Park Se-young has more.
Being able to safely and accurately look inside the body is essential for both diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
Light can provide high resolution images without harming the body, but light's trajectory is easily scattered and diffused.
Now, Korean researchers have found a strategy to maximize the intensity of the waves that interact with the target over the waves that do not, … based on the time it takes for the waves to travel to the target and be reflected back.
After selecting the correct wavelengths, the researchers shoot the light toward the target once again to maximize efficiency.

"After analyzing the characteristics of light waves that interact with the target object, we developed a technique that increases the efficiency by using a special pattern of light."

When the scientists applied the technique to a mouse skull, it demonstrated a more than ten-fold improvement of light energy delivery to targets compared to current optical imaging.
The team expects the method to increase the efficiency of disease control and hopes to apply it to nerve cells, bone marrow and brain tissue of animals and humans.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.