Washington: A landmark medical imaging system developed in the US that can magnify by more than 1,000 times molecules deep inside the human body to help detect tiny tumours has a double Indian connection.

Led by Sanjiv Sam Gambhir, a team of Stanford University School of Medicine researchers developed the new type of imaging system that can illuminate tumours getting pictures with a precision of nearly one-trillionth of a metre.

And the technique of non-invasive molecular imaging of small subjects uses a phenomenon known as the famous Raman effect and the research team believes it is the first such study of its kind.

Raman spectroscopy, expands the available toolbox for the field of molecular imaging, said Gambir. It is a phenomenon first discovered in the 1920s by Nobel Laureate Sir C V Raman and refers to the scattering which happens when light from a source such as a laser is shone on a object.

"The new imaging system is an entirely new way of imaging living subjects, not based on anything previously used," said Gambhir, who has often said that molecular imaging is not something different from good detective work. Gambhir is currently directing the Molecular Imaging Programme at Stanford.

The technique could prove useful in surgery for removing cancerous tissue, as the imager is so sensitive it can aid doctors in finding even the smallest amount of malignant cells, he added. The extreme sensitivity of the imager could enable detection of even the most minute malignant tissues.

Gambhir's study describing the method was published in the online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source : PTI