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New gamma ray to cure
cancer
Scottish scientists have created a magnificent gamma ray
beam, which is more than a thousand billion times brilliant
than the Sun, to revolutionize cancer detection and
treatment.
A team led by scientists from the University of Strathclyde said the ray
could be used in medical imaging, radiotherapy and radioisotope production,
as well as monitoring the integrity of stored nuclear waste.
The researchers found that ultra-short-duration laser pulses could interact
with ionised gas to give off beams that are so intense they can pass
through 20cm of lead and would take 1.5 metres of concrete to be
completely absorbed.
Experts say the discovery may lead to scanners that provide doctors with
a clearer picture of cancerous tumours deep within the body.
They may also be able to target treatment more effectively by delivering a
gamma-ray beam to blast tumours.
"This is a great breakthrough, which could make the probing of very dense
matter easier and more extensive, and so allow us to monitor nuclear
fusion capsules imploding," the Scotsman quoted Professor Dino Jaroszyski,
who led the physicists, as saying.
"It could also act as a powerful tool in medicine for cancer therapy and
there is nothing else to match the duration of the gamma ray pulses, which
is also why it is so bright," he added.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Physics .
New gamma ray to cure cancer - The Times of India
cancer
Scottish scientists have created a magnificent gamma ray
beam, which is more than a thousand billion times brilliant
than the Sun, to revolutionize cancer detection and
treatment.
A team led by scientists from the University of Strathclyde said the ray
could be used in medical imaging, radiotherapy and radioisotope production,
as well as monitoring the integrity of stored nuclear waste.
The researchers found that ultra-short-duration laser pulses could interact
with ionised gas to give off beams that are so intense they can pass
through 20cm of lead and would take 1.5 metres of concrete to be
completely absorbed.
Experts say the discovery may lead to scanners that provide doctors with
a clearer picture of cancerous tumours deep within the body.
They may also be able to target treatment more effectively by delivering a
gamma-ray beam to blast tumours.
"This is a great breakthrough, which could make the probing of very dense
matter easier and more extensive, and so allow us to monitor nuclear
fusion capsules imploding," the Scotsman quoted Professor Dino Jaroszyski,
who led the physicists, as saying.
"It could also act as a powerful tool in medicine for cancer therapy and
there is nothing else to match the duration of the gamma ray pulses, which
is also why it is so bright," he added.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Physics .
New gamma ray to cure cancer - The Times of India
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