Laser X - New X-Ray Technology

Up until recently, the power source required to generate the appropriate strength laser beam for this application would be so enormous that it has been impractical to couple the use of lasers with X-Rays. However, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder have developed a method to generate strong laser beams from a “table top” size power source, effectively making laser X-Ray technology a practical reality.

The research team used a laser beam to release atoms from argon, a highly stable chemical element. The resulting emission of X-Rays was too weak to be useful. The team then hurled the atoms back into the argon, causing a larger, more consistent stream of X-Rays of sufficient size to be useful to be emitted. This “boomerang” technique is now being manipulated to generate a highly regular, very strong source of X-Rays, coupled with laser beams.

The technique is not yet ready for application in the clinical setting. Further research is necessary to extend the technique into the hard X-Ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Once that task has been accomplished, the commercial laser X-Ray will follow.

Recent Radiography Breakthrough

Although the X-Ray or radiograph has long been a fundamental medical imaging tool, this approach has always had the drawback that the images produced are indistinct, requiring extremely careful analysis and interpretation. Scientists have long searched for a way to enhance the quality of radiographic images.

Recent breakthroughs in the development of laser X-Ray capability have the potential to completely change the quality of radiographic images. The light generated by a laser source would be bright enough to create strong, distinct contrasts on radiographic images. Moreover, coupling the candlepower of a laser beam with X-Ray could improve resolution by a factor of about one thousand. Medical systems at this level of resolution could provide the technology to detect cancers and other abnormalities that cannot now be detected with current X-Ray technology.

Brief History of The X-Ray Imaging Equipment

X-Rays have been available for use as medical imaging equipment since around 1895 when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered that he could create images of internal body structures such as bones and some tissues by passing electromagnetic waves through the body. He labeled the phenomenon “X” because he did not initially understand the composition of the “rays”. Since that time, X-Rays have been the foundation upon which medical imaging technology and medical imaging equipment have been built.