Sound Beam In A Scalpel

There's no doubt about it, the science behind sonic horns is fascinating and, as outlined in our last blog post, the effectiveness of this 'sonic science' affords us the opportunity of helping many diverse industries to solve their material flow problems. From cement to carbon black manufacturing, pet foods to cosmetics production, power plants to pharmaceutical companies and more.

Our field of sonic horn technology, however, is just one tiny piece in the jigsaw of what makes up the realm of sound as a definitive science. Recently, I read about a proposed use of sound for a medical application that, if successfully developed, could make a radical difference to modern day surgery.

The idea is to use a sound beam as an invisible scalpel for non-invasive surgery. Sound amazing doesn't it? Well, using sound in medicine is nothing new of course - doctors already have available to them the use of sound waves to blast apart kidney stones. The equipment they use focuses sound waves so that they generate heat whereas the new invention I'm talking about today uses pressure.

Thanks to pioneering work by engineering researchers at the University of Michigan, it may not be long before we see operations being performed where the only thing thing that enters the patient's body is an ultrasound beam. They have developed a carbon-nanotube-coated lens that can convert light to sound and focus high-pressure sound waves to an incredibly fine point just 75 x 400 micrometers (1 micrometer = 1,000th of a millimeter!)

No tests have yet been conducted on humans but if the current program of research and testing is ultimately successful, then we may in the future see operations with far less risk of individual cells being disrupted and possibly even painless operations because the sound beam is so finely focused that it may be possible to even avoid nerve fibres.

Click here for more on this wonderful new pioneering work using sound waves.