We have used X-Rays as a medical imaging technique since 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered that he could create pictures of body structures like tissues and bones by passing electromagnetic waves through the body. He named the phenomenon X because he did not initially understand what made up the rays. Since that time, X-Rays have been the building block upon which medical imaging technology and medical imaging equipment have been made. Even though the X-Ray has long been a basic medical imaging tool, this approach has always had the down side that the pictures made are not exact, which makes it so it requires extremely careful analysis and interpretation. Scientists have been researching for years in an attempt to find a way to make the radiographic images better. Recent breakthroughs in the growth of laser X-Ray's have led to advancements that have the potential to completely change the quality of radiographic images. The light distributed by a laser would be bright enough to create strong, distinct contrasts on radiographic images. Also, grouping the power of a laser beam with X-Rays can produce better images by a factor of around 1,000. Medical imaging that could make the picture that much better might give us the resources to find abnormalities and cancers that you can not detect right now with our technology. Until recently, the power source needed to generate the perfect strength laser beam for this invention was so large that it was impractical to even try. Nevertheless, due to new technology, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder have created a method to create powerful laser beams from a table top size power source. This makes laser X-Ray technology a workable reality. The research team used a laser beam to release atoms from argon. Argon is a stable chemical element. The resulting radiation of X-Rays was not strong enough to be of use. The team then shot the atoms right back at the argon which made a bigger, more smooth ray of X-Rays of sufficient size to be useful to be emitted. This boomerang technique is now being handled to make a regular, very powerful source of X-Rays, coupled with laser beams. The technique is not yet ready to be used in the clinical setting. Further examining is necessary to expand the technique into the hard X-Ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Once that task has been accomplished, the commercial laser X-Ray will come next.
Jesse Fisher loves writing articles for his clients which includes Transamerican Medical, a business that resells <a href="http://www.transamericanmedical.com/">Philips Medical</a> equipment and parts. See also <a href="http://www.medicalimagingnews.com/">Medical Imaging News.</a>
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