Ellie McCann

The UK developed handheld scanner that could revolutionise medical imaging

In-Depth

Researchers from UCL have developed a new hand-held scanning technology designed to generate detailed 3D photoacoustic imaging in ‘just seconds.’ Ellie McCann reports.

PAT scanning can detect subtle structural changes in blood vessels
PAT scanning can detect subtle structural changes in blood vessels - UCL

Photoacoustic tomography imaging, or PAT technology, uses laser-generated ultrasound waves to visualise subtle changes in human veins and arteries.

With the ability to identify these changes in less-than-millimetre-scale veins and arteries up to 15mm deep in human tissues, the technology is crucial in identifying early markers of disease in patients. 

Since its early development in 2000, PAT has long been heralded as having the potential to revolutionise medical understanding of biological processes and improve the clinical assessment of cancer and other major diseases. It works using the photoacoustic effect, which occurs when materials absorb light and produce sound waves.

PAT scanners work by firing very short laser bursts at biological tissue. Some of this energy is absorbed, depending on the colour of the target, causing a slight increase in heat and pressure that in turn generates a faint ultrasound wave containing information about the tissue.

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PAT scanner