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IMAGE: By coupling ultrasound waves to a medical needle, researchers were able to make the tip of a medical needle vibrate 30 000 times per second. The new technology could improve. view more
Credit: Aalto University
The diagnosis of diseases like cancer almost always needs a biopsy - a procedure where a clinician removes a piece of suspect tissue from the body to examine it, typically under a microscope. Many areas of diagnostic medicine, especially cancer management, have seen huge advances in technology, with genetic sequencing, molecular biology and artificial intelligence all rapidly increasing doctors ability to work out what s wrong with a patient. However the technology of medical needles hasn t changed dramatically in 150 years, and - in the context of cancer management - needles are struggling to provide adequate tissue samples for new diagnostic techniques. Now researchers have shown that modifying the biopsy needle to vibrate rapidly at 30,000 time