A quantum leap for medical imaging.

Ultrasound, X-rays, and magnetic resonance imaging: Technologies like these have revolutionized medicine many times over, but they all have their limitations: They show only a fraction of what is inside our bodies. This is a challenge for the early diagnosis and treatment of diseases, which is why researchers like Vasilis Ntziachristos and Julia Schnabel want to create the next quantum leap for medical imaging.

Based on optoacoustics, scientists at Helmholtz Munich have introduced a new imaging technique that enables high-contrast, high-resolution imaging. It is cheap and safe, using no contrast agents, and can bring diagnostics to the doctor’s office and even to homes for early detection of diseases.

With machine learning they are also developing cost-effective solutions that enable more precise, faster, and reliable decision-making aids for physicians so they can detect cancer, vascular calcifications, and metabolic diseases much earlier. That means a great improvement in the treatment of patients.

Image: Hailong He/ Helmholtz Munich