x-rays

Oraya's IRay earns Europe's CE mark of approval

For three years, Oraya Therapeutics out of California has been developing and fine-tuning a stereotactic device to treat diseases of the eye.

They call it the IRay system, by which researchers deliver low-energy X-rays to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which--as the leading cause of vision loss in people older than 50--afflicts some 25 million to 30 million people worldwide, according to AMD Alliance International.

This week, the IRay has been granted the CE mark, certifying that the IRay system conforms to European Union safety, health, and environmental requirements.

"The CE mark requirements for an early stage medical … Read more

Casttoo X-ray cast wrap replaces pity with awe

I've never had the pleasure of breaking a bone, but if I did, you can bet I'd be wearing a Casttoo to share my innermost threshold for pain with the world.

Casttoos are customizable, waterproof cast decals. You e-mail in the image of your choice--yes, X-rays work great, though a shattered Terminator endoskeleton might be a valid secondary option--and they'll mail you out a decal that can be affixed via hairdryer.

Prices range anywhere from $20 to $40, but hopefully, if you're on decent pain meds at the time, you'll have no issues shrugging off … Read more

Capturing atomic images via ultrafast X-ray pulses

Particle acceleration has been the focus of research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center since the early 1960s, but a relatively new project at the U.S. Department of Energy facility at Stanford University called the Linac Coherent Light Source ( LCLS) is giving scientists a unique opportunity to capture images of single molecules. With the use of microwaves, electrons are accelerated along a two-mile path where they are oscillated back and forth, generating radiation and ultrafast X-ray flashes that capture images of molecular events with a "shutter speed" of less than 100 femtoseconds. Creating these molecular movies of … Read more

Researchers accelerate proton cancer treatment

For bone cancer patient Nicole McLaughlin to get proton-beam radiation therapy--a treatment to which she owes her life--it took traveling across the country to what then, in 1999, was the only facility providing such technology.

But new research being developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which could reduce the size of proton accelerator machines from that of a football field to that of a traditional X-ray machine, could soon make proton therapy more easily accessible to all.

Better-known X-ray radiation goes all the way through the body and can cause healthy cell death, which could be potentially catastrophic depending on … Read more

X-ray umbrella shows the world your inner self

I'm all for recycling, but this may be just a little too much: using X-rays as umbrella sheets.

X-ray film is not cheap to begin with, and you'll need 24 large ones to complete this do-it-yourself project. So you may end up with a brolly that's unique (after all, no one else can have the same fracture), but at a cost.

You will also need a pair of scissors to cut the fabric from a golf umbrella, a sewing machine, a grommet punch (a tool to make holes), and clear zip ties. Complete graphical instructions on how … Read more

Z Portal scans whole cars at a time

Traveling by airplane these days requires an X-ray scan of your luggage and laptop, but driving in and out of the country by car still requires a manual search. According to CNN, that's about to change. American Science and Engineering has created a device called the Z Portal, which is essentially a mammoth X-ray machine--about the size of an automated car wash--that can scan whole vehicles at a time.

Using a low radiation form of X-rays called backscatter, the Z Portal is able to peer through the vehicle to reveal hidden immigrants, weapons, circus animals, or whatever else someone … Read more

TSA admits MacBook Air is a real laptop

You may recall some controversy earlier this week when a mild-mannered air traveler found himself on the wrong side of the X-ray scanner when some TSA agents didn't believe that his MacBook Air was a legitimate laptop.

I'm standing, watching my laptop on the table, listening to security clucking just behind me. "There's no drive," one says. "And no ports on the back. It has a couple of lines where the drive should be," she continues.

Eventually, a younger more technologically hip TSA agent came to his rescue, but the entire incident still … Read more

An airport scanner for the home

One simply can't be too careful in this security-conscious age. You could, for example, have installed security cams, metal detectors and even a moat around your dwelling, but there's always the chance that you missed something. And for some reason, the idea of hiring security personnel to conduct body-cavity searches hasn't quite caught on for private residences.

Once again, we turn to technology for a reasonable compromise: Your very own X-ray scanner. Now you too can play TSA agent in the comfort of your own home while viewing this system's 17-inch LCD to inspect the contents … Read more

Antispying undergarments

Modesty apparently has no place in the digital age. It's one thing for airport security to consider using technology that can see through clothes, but some tech-savvy voyeurs are cobbling together DIY infra-red scanners for less-than-noble uses. For every offense, however, there is economic opportunity.

The "Shot Guard" line of undergarments, for instance, is designed to "make photography difficult," according to American Inventor Spot. The defensive clothing is being marketed in Japan, where the peeping problem is apparently concentrated. (Why are we not surprised?)

It's unclear how this foundation-wear blocks prying beams, but Shiny … Read more