Originally published February 21 2006
Engineer designs robotic X-ray machine
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The robot follows and shoots X-ray video of people with orthopedic injuries as they move around. The robot will allow surgeons to make better diagnoses, especially for injuries that manifest when the joint is in motion.
A University of Florida engineer has designed a robot to shadow and shoot X-ray video of sufferers of orthopedic injuries as they walk, climb stairs, stand up from a seated position or pursue other normal activities - and maybe even athletic ones like swinging a bat.
UF mechanical and aerospace engineer Scott Banks' goal is to augment static images of patients' bones, muscles and joints with an interior view of these and other parts in action during normal physical activity.
By merging such full-motion X-rays with computerized representations, orthopedic surgeons will make better diagnoses, suggest more appropriate treatments and get a clearer idea of post-operative successes and failures, he said.
Orthopedic surgeons have long diagnosed patients by touch or with static X-rays, MRI and CT scans.
They also may use X-ray video, but current technologies provide only a tight view of a very limited range of motion in a controlled laboratory setting.
While all of these techniques can be effective, they do not work well with injuries that manifest themselves when a joint is in motion, Banks said.
Banks hopes his robot - actually, a system that uses two robots because one robot will be necessary to shoot the X-ray video and another to hold the image sensor -- will lead to a radical improvement.
The robot, which has a one-meter mechanical arm, is a commercial product normally used in robotically assisted surgeries and silicon chip manufacturing that Banks and his graduate students have re-engineered.
The robot can shadow a person's knee, shoulder or other joint with its hand as he or she moves.
For now, the single robot holds a standard video camera.
The patch, several cameras placed around the room and a networked computer command the robots to hone in on and track the joint.
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