The Smallest Imaging Device of the World Can Help Identify Causes of Heart Disease
Before the emergence of the 3D micro-printing imaging device, several other devices were already being used to help identify a particular heart ailment.
A group of scientists headed by the University of Stuttgart and the University of Adelaide has used what they describe as "the world's smallest, flexible scope" for looking blood vessels inside.
The 3D micro-printing is a camera-like imaging device that functions by inserting it into blood vessels to produce high-quality 3D images to help researchers understand better, the main causes of heart disease progression and heart attack.
The device, according to scientists who had tried it, helps such conditions result in "improved treatment and prevention."
In a recently-published study, a multidisciplinary team of scientists and clinicians was able to print in 3D-quality, a small lens on an optical fibre's end, a human hair's thickness.
ALSO READ: At-Home Blood Pressure Monitor: 5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Reliable One
Blood Vessels of Mice Tested
The imaging apparatus is very small that scientists can scan inside mice's blood vessels. According to the study's co-author, Dr. Jiawen Li, who is also a Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Adelaide's Institute of Photonics, in Australia cardiovascular disease or CVD is killing "one person every 19 minutes."
Li Added that a primary factor in heart ailment is the plaques made up of cholesterol, fats and other building up the vessel walls.
Preclinical and clinical diagnostics growingly depend on the visualization of the blood vessels' structure to further understand the illness.
Also, according to Li, miniaturized endoscopes, with functions like mini cameras, let a medical practitioner or a doctor identify how such plaques build up and discover new ways of treating them.
DON'T MISS THIS: Chewing Robot to Help Develop Medicated Gum
The Ability to Print What the Naked Eyes Can't See
Responsible for the fabrication of the said tiny lens is Optical Design and Simulation group leader, Dr. Simon Thiele, from the University of Stuttgart.
Until now, Dr. Thiele explained, they could not "make high-quality endoscopes this small." He added that the use of 3D micro-printing, "We are able to print" complicated lenses that are very tiny to see with the naked eye.
The whole endoscope, with a shielding plastic exterior or covering, is less than half a millimeter crosswise.
The medical expert also expressed excitement in working on a particular project in which they "take such innovations and develop them into something very helpful."
Other Devices Focused on Heart Disease Currently Being Used
Before the emergence of this tiny imaging device, several other devices were already being used to help identify a particular heart ailment.
For instance, when an individual's muscle has been impaired like in a heart attack, his body produces substances in his blood.
In relation to this, blood tests can gauge the said substances and present if, and how much of the heart muscle has been impaired.
Then, there is an electrocardiogram or ECG that can read the "electrical impulses" of the heart. The machine has the ability too, to show how well the beating of the heart is.
Other devices include the exercise stress test or treadmill, a type of ECG done while an individual is exercising. It helps the doctor determine how well a patient's heart is working while he is physically active.
For more advanced testing, there's magnetic resonance imaging or MRI which uses "very strong magnets and radio waves" to produce the heart's detailed images via a computer. MRI can capture images of the heart, both still and moving.
IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS: 5 Simple Ways to Use an At-Home Blood Test Kit
Jul 23, 2020 10:30 AM EDT
