Researchers from Fraunhofer Technology Development Group TEG and Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT in conjunction with software company MedCom have developed a new system that promises to offer low cost solution for physicians to convert their existing 2-D device into 3-D technology.
Previously, to upgrade their 2-D ultrasound scanners clinics and physicians were normally paying approximately $100,000 but now to get 3-D images by upgrading their conventional 2-D ultrasound scanners they only have to shell $1000.
This new system not only facilitates to see an unborn child in its mother’s womb, or to detect gall stones and to identify tumor-like lumps but it also plays an important role to detect breast cancer in early stages. It also provides informative images to diagnose the structure of tumors, their growth patterns and their blood supply to distinguish disease from healthy tissues.
Dr. Urs Schneider, project manager at TEG explains the system as:
We fit the ultrasound transducers with inertial sensors that can determine the exact position and orientation of the probe.
Specially developed algorithms then allow us to reconstruct a three-dimensional image from the data thus obtained
This highly accurate, low-cost system will offer better diagnostic capabilities to patient’s especially in European countries and according to Dr. Urs Schneider the system will hit the market sometimes this year.
Via: Gizmag
