Professor Teramoto and his colleagues at the New Industry Creation Hatchery Center of Tohoku University have succeeded in developing an "electron microscope" element that has an autofocus function and a self-regeneration function.This made it possible to directly observe more than 35 trillion cells in the body for a long time without adjusting the focus.
Imaging technology for the human body is being actively developed all over the world, but until now, the cells that can be observed alive at the cellular level are the body surface of the human body, such as the skin and gastrointestinal tract, out of the 37 trillion cells. Was limited to 2 trillion cells.The remaining cells could not be observed unless they were taken out of the body by blood sampling or tissue sampling, but if 35 trillion hidden cells could be observed, it would be caused by cells such as cancer. It is expected to lead to early detection of certain diseases.
This time, the research group discovered a method for specifically measuring the resistance at the interface between a solution and an electrode, and invented an electron microscope by applying this principle.The developed electron microscope can capture the electrochemical characteristics of the subject as it is, so there is no need to focus.In addition, since the oscillator is made of liquid, the oscillator is automatically updated and continues to reproduce without deterioration of its function.Using this self-renewal function, it became possible to track cell movement for as long as 72 hours.
The electron microscope element can also be mounted on injection needles, etc., and is expected to be applied to human body imaging technology along with roentgens and endoscopes in the future.
