Research from the University of Queensland could just make the humble X-ray easier to take with children, as wearable, flexible glass aims to take medical imaging further.
The X-ray has been around since 1895, and has seen numerous improvements in that span of time.
Over a hundred years have passed by, and like most technology, medical image has seen leaps and bounds with regards to making things better, clearer, faster, and sharper, but the act of taking photos used for diagnosis is still one that can be improved, particularly with children.
If you’ve ever sat for a dental X-ray, you know all too well that an X-ray can be uncomfortable. It’s even worse if you’re a child.
Impatient, frustrated, unable to explain quite how they feel and what’s going on, kids already have a hard time at a hospital or in the GP office, and an X-ray doesn’t make it any easier.
Some X-rays are easier than others, too.
Scanning a hand is fairly simple, but getting a chest or lung X-ray when someone is already out of sorts? That’s a problem.
Over at the University of Queensland, a team of researchers has been working on a way to make getting an X-ray easier overall, at least with regards to respiratory scans.
“Staying still during a lengthy scan under a big machine isn’t easy for adults, let alone young, overwhelmed children who are already unwell and distressed in an unfamiliar and daunting clinical environment,” said Dr Jingwei Hou, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland’s School of Chemical Engineering.
“Unfortunately this often means sedation or general anaesthesia is required to keep children still so the scan is accurate, which introduces additional risks and complexities,” he said.
The solution uses a type of glass made with quantum dots that can be manufactured into film to conform to a fabric. Think of it like a special soft glass that can be worn with a jumper or match the soft wrinkles of a toy.
Dr Hou’s use of quantum dots is similar to the quantum dots used in TVs. For displays, quantum dots essentially hone the colour, while here, the quantum dots are used to help show up when an X-ray is used, a process the professor has previously published in Science.
“My quantum dot technology makes use of a family of materials known for their unparalleled light conversion and emission efficiency,” said Dr Hou.
“By assembling these materials into thin, flexible X-ray detectors I can create a wearable X-ray detector that is both comfortable while still providing high-resolution imaging of lung structure,” he said.
The technology is still some time off, with a grant awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council covering further research and development for the next five years, after which the process will be ready for actual clinical trials.
It means that while child X-rays may be awkward at times now, in the future, they may be as easy as wrapping something warm and familiar like a toy or clothing in a material that can help get the X-ray doctors need.
