Camera could help in the detection of cancer

HANDHELD DEVICE CAN GIVE DOCTORS 3D IMAGES

SCIENTISTS have designed a portable 3D imaging device which will improve the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.

Current handheld gamma imaging tools are small and easy to use, but are limited to providing 2D information, giving doctors and surgeons only part of the picture.

Much larger systems are able to give 3D images, but are bulky and complex, often occupying rooms.

Researchers from Loughborough University have now published a paper which shows it is possible to combine the best aspects of both devices.

Dr Sarah Bugby is developing the Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) – a device about the size of a hairdryer.

The original 2D HGC was created about five years ago at Leicester and Nottingham universities, where Dr

Bugby joined the project before bringing the camera to Loughborough to continue the work.

It works by taking two images from slightly different angles and calculating the exact position of whatever it is observing, the exact same way astronomers measure the vast distances to stars.

Dr Bugby said: “We showed it was possible to conduct handheld stereoscopic gamma imaging, which will provide 3D rather than 2D information.

“By combining gamma and optical imaging, this 3D information will tell the user where and how deep a source of radioactivity is inside a particular material.

“This has applications in radioguided surgery – where a surgeon is looking for a source of radioactivity within the body, for example during cancer treatment and diagnosis – and may also find use in other areas in the nuclear industry.”

The university is hoping to work with academics in Uruguay to get the camera into the hands of physicians.

There are currently only three large imagers in the country.