Hand-held 3D scanner could simplify medical imaging

Although there are various efforts under way to create a working Star Trek-like medical tricorder, such a device isn’t available for general use just yet. In the meantime, however, doctor’s offices may soon be equipped a piece of equipment that wouldn’t look at all out of place in the sick bay of the Enterprise. Developed by engineers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, it’s a hand-held scanning device that provides real-time three-dimensional images of the insides of patients’ bodies.

The scanner utilizes optical coherence tomography (OCT), which has been described as “optical ultrasound,” in that it uses reflected light – as opposed to reflected sound – to image internal structures. Along with an OCT system, the device also incorporates a near-infrared light source, a video camera for obtaining images of surface features at the scan location, and a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based scanner for directing the light.