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Technology helps medicine: A digital three-dimensional image gives a crystal-clear view of an aortic dissection.
Doctors take 3D tours of the body



IF you thought you knew your body inside out, think again.

New technology is allowing doctors to take virtual tours inside the human body.

From the heart to the tiny bones in your fingers, all can be reproduced in digital 3D.

The radiology equipment helps medical experts diagnose problems such as cancer faster and more accurately.

The technology, called AquariusNET, has been developed by US firm TeraRecon and film giant Agfa.

There are only four such machines being used in Victoria, including one at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine.

Dr Chris O'Donnell, a consultant radiologist at the institute, said the technology was a non-invasive way for experts to take a better look inside the body.

"Nowadays, with this new capacity to look at in 3D, it's interactive and we can manipulate the images," Dr O'Donnell said.

Previously, CAT scans only allowed doctors to look at single, one-dimensional images of the inside of the body.

But this latest advancement involves an average of 700 images to produce 3D high-resolution images of internal organs and bones.

The amazing pictures give experts a microscopic view of anatomy, help them pinpoint even the tiniest abnormalities.

"We can look above, around and all over to help us interpret disease and get a diagnosis of the cancer, fracture or whatever it is," Dr O'Donnell said.

Unlike old radiology equipment, images can be sent instantly via email to medical specialists anywhere in the world.

This comes as an invaluable tool for busy doctors who need second opinions or expert knowledge to save a patient's life.

The most common diagnosis made using the new equipment is of cancer tumours and trauma injuries such as broken bones or ruptured organs.

Phillip Cahill, from Diagnostic Imaging Australia, who is responsible for distributing the diagnostic equipment in Australia and New Zealand, said the machines cost between $40,000 and $120,000.

The AquariusNET machines were launched in Australia and New Zealand yesterday.




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