THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1959.
IT TAKES PICTURES
Melbourne.
A RESEARCH team of the Depart-
ment of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Australia, is working on a project to develop a televisión camera small enough to operate within a patient's body.
Medical authorities throughout the world recognise the possibilities of such a small camera for the location and diagnosis of internal disorders, particularly cancer of the colon.
Successful work on mine- ture. vidicon tubes - the "eyes" of television hae brought the idea closer to reality, but the Melbourne research men consider that It will be at least another two years before the goal is accomplished.
After a year's work they have
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built a camera the size of electric shaver. They believe it to be the smallest working tole- vision camera in the world. As some of the main components of this camera were imported from Europe, the remarch workers do not claim to have broken any important scienliste barriers. Their
achivement in basically
an imaginative feat of engineer- ing which has not been dupite cated elsewhere.
*
The Idea
The inspiration for
the project came from Di George Berci, a surgeon who came to Australia from Hungary in 1958 and la now on the search staff of the University of. Melbourne,
re-
Dr. Bere began the work in his spare time with a German-
- born engineer, Mr Jurgens Davids, who at the time was umployed by a Melbourne tele- elon stallon, and an electrical engineer, Mr Leslie Kont.
Mr Kont, also from Hungary, had done research work with Dr Berel at a hospital in Budspect.
The three men worked mainly at night, using the Alfred Hos- pital in Melbourne an their headquarters. Beenuse the hospital Tacked television measuring and testing
equip ment, they did much of their research
the television station where Mr Davids was employed.
10
The Size
They started with an indus- trial videon camera, about the size of a shoe-box, and set out to reduce its size.
INSIDE
YOUR BODY!
By
Our Own Correspondent
and its coll acerbly, plue # second contained the rest of the section of the pre-amplifier. The pre-amplifier.
der, the bronchoscope for the lungs, and the peritoneoscope for the abdominal cavity.
In general, these instruments Having proved the idea consist of a hollow tube con- feasible, the team set to build an taining a tens system,
source entirely new and much smaller of light at the end which is in 'comert. For this a tiny vidicon serted into the patient's body tube was required and there and, at the other end, an eye- were many design problems to piece through which the doctor
ean make oùzervations. be solved."
Dr Berci dis- covered the
right tube
Mad
in Wiesbaden, Germany. De veloped by a German ого- fessor, it only half inch In dia- meter and about the length of man's index fingur.
Using this tube, the Mel- bourne toam built an adopt- able two-part The camera.
first unit was enclosed in A metal box mensuring two inches by three Inches by Ove inches and weighing 10 ounces.
diameter of 40 mm. can be At the Alfred Hospital, the gripped in a surgeon's palm camera has been coupled to an and has a great advantage over X-ray image intensifier, noma?- heavier comeros.
ly used to give the doctor D Manipulation of the optical mere pronounced picture them instruments attached to the would appear on the fluorescent Crimera demands * mesisitive, EÇTEEN. touch, both for a good image and to prevent injury to the patient. The tiny camera sults this purpose ideally.
To get the best result from television, the research team has
relined improve made some ments to these standard instru-
ments.
The ced tones of the interior of the body have low photo- graphic sensitivity and result in a comparatively dark plcture. This can be overcome by creasing the intensity
1
Televised, this pleture... can.. now be shown to several doctors at the same time. The method has made possible a considerablé decrease in the intensity of the
can radiation and a larger and more prolonged picture, which
What also be recorded on Alm. is more, there is no need for the K-ray to be taken in total darkness.
The tiny camera" has great advantages over larger esmeris for televising operations for in- of the medical students. It can light. But then there is the suspended over the area of the remotely. problem of operation
boon, following
THE new camera, foreground, is dwarfed by a 16-ounce
a OTI
bd
CORETMAST
keeping the controlled temperature every moment of the surgeon's
down so that it hands.
will not affect
The bulky camerus at present
the tissue being in use are generally placed sene distance from the opern-
examined.
Dr Bercl's ng table and a telephoto lens engineers have is used. A critical procedure in dealt with this the operation may be locked by by Introducing a nurse of doctor. the light by
means of
Length
2.
Of
The present tiny camera is a
plastic rod, like lant way removed from one that can be used to televise the inside spaghett run- of the colon, but the Melbourne encouraged by
ning down the team has been
stem of the progress that has been made, instrument.
Light descends the rod from
A globe at the
viewing end of the instrancat. It is П cold jight because Its source
come distanco from the area
by she want, and the larger
under examin-
stion and be-
cause the plas-
The value of this camera was demon- strated at the Alfred Hospital, particularly in What the doctor sees is only ssociation with optical instru- a minute image, If the lastru- ments used for exploring Inside ment is coupled to a television the human body, in X-ray work camera, this image can be re- and for televising operations for produced on a television screen, medical education.
greatly enlarged, and mare de tailed. A group of doelors can
industrial vidieon camera which was used in their first experiments.
Dr Beret and Mr Davids now observe the picture simul- visited Europe early this year to taneously, wherr only one study work being done in could see before. medies) television and to search The Melbourne camera, for
smaller vidicon wrigting only 300 grams, with a дл evca
They did not find one, first, the vidieon tube and the but have been able to combine reflection coll assembly around their present
An orthodox television caintza such as this has two basic units; e.
it and, second, the pre-amplifier, smile call.
which amplifies and relays the
sensitive impulsen received ban
the tube.
Lube with
Most Promising
D
These impulses are extremely Using this assembly and other weak. and to prevent loss the tiny components, including
pre-amplifier is placed us close miniature resistors and transla- as possible to the videon tube, tors, they have produced their This accounts for the size of present chaving-machine-sized television cameras,
camera.
To reduce the size, the en- The team is now concentrating gineers developed a teclusique on the medical applications which enabled them to separate, this camera and the engineering
or partially separate, the two biens involved in the de- units without significant loss of velopment of camera small efficiency,
were
The units, instead of being
sithe-by-side. assembled now connected by n flexible tele- vision camera cable, several feet long, making them serad. Independent. The first und consisted
of the vidicon tube'.
enough to be inserted into tho body.
The most promising applica-|
tie rod acts as a Alter against infra red rays.
assistants
Dr Berel and his have combined television and clae photography by mounting a speckl 18 mm. cine camera in front of the screen of the tale- vision monitor. Thus the pic- ture is recorded and the surgeon can give prolonged sily to what would otherwise be 4 mamentary Image.
The new camera has also been ured successfully in X-ray work.
Airliner of the Future?
BRITAIN'S first faster-than-sound airliner may be an 800 m.p.h. European-services aircraft with "M"-wings. It could be ready, if the Govern- ment agrees, in the late 1960's. The project is now being assessed by designers and technicians at Armstrong-Whitworth, Coventry.
Their
design-wind
tunnel sections swept back. In other tion of the present camera has tests are now being carried out respects the airliner has a normal. been in association with with a scale modei-incorporates look. optical instruments used in the "M" shape.
And, designers say, the four-
diagnosis, such as the custo- Centre halves of the wing span acope for cxploring the blad-are swept forward, the outer jet aircraft could be built of
Don't you chaps feel you'ra being a teeny weeny bit unfair, to the
"competitors."
normal alloys by normal en- gineering methods.
1,500-Mile Rango
The project is one of the "hush-hush" contenders for the Moch 1.2 (1.2 times the speed of sound) 1,500-mlie range air- Uner recently recommended by the joint industry and airlines committee.
..
This committee also urged the building of a 1,200 m.p.h. long- range airliner that would bring New York and London to within two and a half hours of each other in the 1070's.
The Government is consider- ing both plans. When any deel- sion is renched, work on Eny supersonic airliner is likely to be shared among the industry.
'Be Boldor' Plan
How for his work gone on the Armstrong-Whitworth project! "We have no comment to make,” aald an amelal today,
Some critics say the 800 mph. and 1,200 m.ph. plan is not bold enaugh. They urge that Britain should go all out för alrerpft æblo to reach three times the speed of sound-2,000 miles an hojani Al Cost of developing such an airarati is expected to be at least £200 million.
- Those in "favour of taking the starter med my hot great problems are involved,
BRIGHTRESS
This is how your doctor may one day probe the interior of your body with television.
A marvel of modern science!
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