Imaging

Digital artists will no doubt be excited to hear that the online art community deviantART has just released Muro, a free, web-based drawing tool. And as an added bonus, Muro is built with HTML5 (read, 'No flash') which means you can use your iPad as a drawing tablet. Read More

Even though melanoma is one of the less common types of skin cancer, it accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths – around 75 percent. The five-year survival rate for early stage melanoma is very high (98 percent), but the rate drops precipitously if the cancer is detected late or there is recurrence. So a great deal rides on the accuracy of the initial surgery, where the goal is to remove as little tissue as possible while obtaining “clean margins” all around the tumor. So far no imaging technique has been up to the task of defining the melanoma's boundaries accurately enough to guide surgery – until now. Read More

You might not care how hard or easy it is to image zebrafish larvae, but you should. Zebrafish larvae are among the most commonly-used laboratory animals, useful for studies of human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Now, engineers from MIT have developed a system that dramatically streamlines the zebrafish-imaging process. Whereas traditional manual viewing takes about ten minutes per fish, a new system developed by engineers at MIT can get the job done in just 19 seconds. Read More

Twenty-seven stroke victims are alive and well today because of a new tool that vacuums clots out of blood vessels in the brain. Known as the Penumbra System of Continuous Aspiration Thrombectomy, the technology has been assessed at the Seaman MR Research Centre at Canada’s University of Calgary. If used within a few hours of a stroke, it can restore blood flow to the brain, thus reversing the effects of the stroke and preventing any permanent brain damage. Read More

The dates for 2011’s PMA International Convention and Trade Show have been confirmed. In an unexpected twist, rather than being held in its traditional first quarter slot, the convention has been moved from February to September. The event will now be taking place September 8-10, 2011, in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The shift in dates has been attributed to changes in “industry buying cycles and technology developments." More significant, though, is the announcement that the convention will be open to the public on September 10, with photo enthusiasts welcome throughout the day. Read More

Anyone who likes to get their gear off for a spot of naked sunbathing in the backyard may have to think twice in the future. Researchers have developed a new nanotechnology-based “microlens” that could lead to a new generation of ultra-powerful satellite cameras and night-vision devices. Thankfully, the new lens is used for infrared imaging, so the technology is more likely to be used for security and monitoring climate change and deforestation than spying on naturists boosting their vitamin D levels. Read More

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have built a device that produces highly focused, high-amplitude acoustic signals dubbed "sound bullets." Called a nonlinear acoustic lens, the device could produce acoustic images superior to conventional medical ultrasound imaging, probe for damage in the interior of nontransparent objects like bridges, ship hulls, and airplane wings, and be used to develop non-invasive scalpels – although there’s no word on whether it will enable the development of sonic screwdrivers. Read More

Remarkable new imaging technology developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin can not only capture the heart in 3D showing blood flow, direction, and velocity, but can also show them relating to a fourth dimension - time. The procedure is fast, and requires no invasive procedures, no contrast agent or general anesthesia and could have significant consequences for patients at risk of cardiac problems. Read More

Just as consumer cameras continue the shrink, so too are cameras designed for military and other commercial applications. The latest is a compact 3D imaging camera launched by Boeing that is designed to be deployed on a wide range of platforms, including unmanned aerial and ground vehicles. The cube-shaped camera is one-third the size and uses one-tenth the power of most comparable cameras. Read More