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Full-Body Airport Scanners Downsizing For Doctors/Dentists
An anonymous reader writes "Cheap handheld terahertz scanners that do the same thing as those big bulky full-body scanners at the airport could be in your doctor's and dentist's office soon. The Semiconductor Research Corp. has successfully sponsored chip maker Texas Instruments in making cheap CMOS chips that do the same thing as those refrigerator sized full-body scanners at the airport. The resulting handheld versions can be tuned to look inside your teeth in the dentist chair and under you skin at the doctor's office. The best part is that terahertz rays are completely safe, unlike the X-rays used today by dentists and doctors which can cause cancer. Count me in!"
I'll wait to believe terahertz radiation is "completely safe" for a little while, yet.
********* sig: If you don't like the law, get filthy stinking rich, and buy a better one.
Scanners belong in doctors' offices, not airports.
Didn't these used to say that X-rays were safe? Anyway, in IMHO the best option is to not to scan at all. Just let everyone board the plane and be on their way -or- we'll start scanning people boarding buses next.
If I were a dentist, I'd certainly want to know if you're packing heat before I start subjecting you to excruciating pain ;-)
As certified by the $10/hr TSA agent with barely a high school education.
Two of my imaginary friends reproduced once
I don't want these fancy new scanners in my dentist's office! What's wrong with having the hygenist run me through the metal detector prior to performing an enhanced patdown?
Yeah we need far more testing on radiation. Especially in the 400nm to 700nm range.
Sure they say its perfectly safe but how long have we been exposing ourselves to it? More data is required!
Guess it depends on how cute your hygienist is.
Monstar L
You are probably familiar with the usual laser safety warning:
Do not look into the laser with your remaining eye.
Obviously light in that wavelength range is problematic.
THz radiation may cause DNA resonance:
http://science.slashdot.org/story/09/10/30/1216230/how-terahertz-waves-tear-apart-dna
We need to petition to get these wavelengths banned. These crazy scientists with their fancy lasers that use these dangerous frequencies must be stopped!
Here's a quick mock-up of how it will look: http://i.imgur.com/2aA3Z.jpg
ZAPHOD: It’s a carbon copy of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal - or I’m a Vogon’s Grandmother! ARTHUR: The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal! Is it safe? [Sound of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal salivating] FORD: Oh Yes! It’s perfectly safe - it’s just us who are in trouble.
This is slashdot, after all. Most youngsters are already avoiding this harmful radiation by hiding in their mother's basement...
I agree, but we shouldn't use the name "completely safe" until it's tested and proven to be safe.
Why don't we just all agree to call all these technologies "Mostly Harmless" until proven otherwise.
Then there will be no confusion.
And if there is confusion, the idiots who are confused need to learn to read, then read a good book. A good book written by Douglas Adams. Then they will understand. They will understand in exactly the same way that bricks don't.
I was with you up to green, but red is a menace! It's a RED menace.
I'm a little curious about the medical uses for the technology. Terahertz EM radiation should have similar wavelengths to Ultrasound, which only penetrates a few inches and lacks resolution. It's very useful, don't get me wrong, but no replacement for X-rays, CT, or MRI (click for images of kidney stones using each modality). Plus, ultrasound is becoming even less reliable due to the obesity epidemic, as it can't penetrate a foot of fat very well. Per Wikipedia THz can penetrate low-water tissue several millimeters, which is similar to visible light seen by the unaided eye.
Dermatologists and Dentists may find it useful, but I'm having trouble seeing the application into other medical fields. (Someone can chime in if there's something, I haven't been keeping up on it.) IMHO, it's premature to consider installing these in the clinic. Before that happens there needs to be some unique and significant benefit, which outweighs the risks, and is cost effective. Until then, keep it in the research labs where portability and miniaturization is less of an issue. We don't need technology in the clinic for technology's sake, it just drives up costs and increases wait times.
Are you worried by 100 THz radiation? Because that is commonly called "light". The visible spectrum is from about 400-790 THz.
Radiation is only ionizing, and thus cancer causing, when it is high frequency. X-rays (already in use in medicine if you didn't notice) are much higher frequency, they are past visible light, past UV.
The next step, once there's terahertz scanning capability in a hand-held device, is to add an accurate short-range location system to the device. Then it becomes possible to do most of the job of a CT scanner, building up a 3D image, with a hand-held device and a lot of compute power. This will be a big win for medicine.
It might be sufficient to put a 6-axis IMU chip in the device and use SLAM to correct for cumulative error. Then you could reference to the body being scanned, not the world coordinate system, and get clean scans even if the patient moves a little.
A useful marketing strategy would be to deploy this first for veterinarians. This avoids many of the regulatory issues.
Yeah. They'd be all like "Yep! That's a table lamp all right! How did he get it in THERE?"
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
The dentist will allow you to opt out, in favour for a traditional cavity search.
There is very good evidence that terahertz waves are anything but safe!
Whereas X-rays pass through most body parts, leading to a very low rate of absorption that is also spread throughout most of the body, terahertz waves are the opposite: a minority of the radiation is reflected back to the scanner, but the majority is completely absorbed by the tissue at the depth of penetration. And because that depth is pretty specific, what you have is a very thin layer of tissue that is completely absorbing a great deal of energy from the radiation.
If you really think about that, you will change your mind about any "completely safe" claims. We need tests and more tests and double-blind tests, before it can be declared "safe", and even then we would need to wait for a long time to rule out any possible long-term effects.
"The radiation is too high-frequency to excite any of the electrons orbiting the atoms in the human body (which is how UV causes damage)"
You meant too LOW frequency , as terahertz is about order of magnitude of micrometer of wavelength : it is in the infrared part of the spectra (far or near depending on how many THz we are speaking of). In fact frequency is going from very low (VHF->FIF->NIF->Visible) to very high (Blue->UV->X->Gamma). Higher frequency=High energy is bad as it can easily knock electron off orbits. Low Frequency=Low Energy less dangerous, to even inactive on our body. Which is the invert with wavelength (short wave =very dangerous , very long wave think radio BHV etc harmless). Then there is also the question of quantity, but as a rule of thumb it is enough.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
...what is free at the airport will soon cost $2,000 at your doctor's office.
Proverbs 21:19