A human life has many different facets to it, but one that enjoys the most influence revolves around an ability to pursue constant progression. This ability is a big reason behind what we have been able to achieve throughout the history. In fact, if we are being honest, it is still delivering all the right goods. Now, it’s easy to just fixate on the end product, but we must mention how our approach to pursuing progression has changed rather dramatically from its previous iterations. The said change is, of course, a by-product of technology. Even though humans are pretty much known to retool their methods every now and then, what technology did on a holistic, as well as granular scale remains unprecedented by all means. When you make such a breakthrough, the ripple effects are always going to be far-reaching, and just like that, the creation would land within all areas across our spectrum. Nevertheless, regardless of this expansive footprint, technology’s most important foray only came once it entered the healthcare segment. With obsolete methods running the whole show, the global healthcare landscape was really going up in flames before technology turned up to rescue it. What happened afterwards will change our outlook towards medical discipline. Suddenly, everyone could dream about living a healthier life, even if the pathway to get there wasn’t exactly short. The said dynamic has grown stronger and stronger over the recent past, and it now looks poised for further improvement, as Columbia University clocks a major milestone.
The researching team at Columbia University has successfully developed a 3D microscope, which can be used to image living tissues in a manner that is wholly non-intrusive. To assess features in tissues, you are usually required to perform highly-extensive procedures like biopsy or histology, but assuming the new microscope ends up working out, it will remove that need, while also giving clinicians a chance to construct 3D models from the collected data. Apart from it, this device might have a big role to play in the surgical setting. Taking its design into account, the microscope can inform you about, let’s say, the boundaries of a tumor without mandating any tissue extraction. Described as “miniaturized high-speed light-sheet microscope for in-situ (real time) volumetric histological imaging,” Columbia University’s latest brainchild is notably equipped to capture even the smallest hint of fluorescence in tissues. Hence, there is no such need to enlist fluorescent labeling molecules or any other imaginable stains.
“Such a technology could give a doctor real-time feedback about what type of tissue they are looking at without the long wait,” said Elizabeth Hillman, a researcher involved in the study. “This instant answer would let them make informed decisions about how best to cut out a tumor and ensure there is none left behind.”
