NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) – In the basement of the Becton Center at Yale University, specifically in the applied physics laboratory of Physicist Hui Cao, a novel laser system has been developed.
“We have two lens,” says Professor Hui Cao.
Prior to this prototype she says, as she points to the monitor, “You see there are a lot of speckles here, random, grainy patterns.”
With this bio-medical imaging researchers can now switch back and forth, albeit a tadpole’s heart, to see both structure as well as blood flow.
“With this laser we are able to really get rid of those speckles to really see this motion where the beating of heart of the tadpole,” said Cao.
Visuals in real time.
“We could use tadpole hearts to study different genes that maybe involved in congenital heart disease about one percent of all babies that are born,” says Dr. Michael Choma at Yale School of Medicine.
Dr. Choma and Cao worked closely with engineers and biologists on this technology.
He says, “It allows us to switch between light, then it allows us to quantify blood flow, how the blood is moving and also allows us to look into how the heart wall and how the structure is changing in time.”
This they say will likely lead to improved diagnostic tools.
“Once your diagnostics are better,” Dr. Choma points out, “you also have the ability to find new ways to treat disease.”
It took about six years to get to this testing phase, but they predict it will take far less time to put it into clinical practice.