Google Maps offers users access to the world by allowing them to zoom in on pin-pointed locations. A biomedical engineering professor at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) hopes to do the same, but for the body.
With the help of German medical technology company Zeiss, Professor Melissa Knothe Tate is working on technology that boasts impressive zoom capabilities (users can even visualize single cells).
Using Google algorithms
The project was developed using semiconductor technology and Google algorithms to zoom in and out from a joint and bring it down to the cellular level. Tate, an engineer with an expertise in cell biology and regenerative medicine, says it’s ““just as you would with Google Maps.” According to the professor, an analyses process that once took 25 days can now be completed in a matter of weeks thanks to the technology.
“For the first time we have the ability to go from the whole body down to how the cells are getting their nutrition and how this is all connected,” Tate said in a statement. “This could open the door to as yet unknown new therapies and preventions.”
Making advances in osteoporosis research
The goal of her project was to gain insight into osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, understanding how different health conditions affect the joint over time. Mapping technology for the body has become a hot commodity, with other universities conducting similar research; for example, Harvard University and Germany’s Heidelberg are currently working with mice in an attempt to map their neural pathways.
Nanometer-sized molecules
Tate has worked to develop microscopy that offers clear images of organs and tissues as small as nanometer-sized molecules. Her team ensured the technology is capable of sifting and analyzing large sets of data, which is crucial for healthcare practitioners.
“These are terabyte-sized data sets so the Google maps algorithms are helping us take this tremendous amount of information and use it effectively,” Tate explained. “They’re the traffic controllers, if you like.”
She added: “Advanced research instrumentation provides a technological platform to answer the hardest, unanswered questions in science, opening up avenues for fundamental discoveries, the implications of which may be currently unfathomable yet which will ultimately pave the way to engineer better human health and quality of life as we age.”
With files from UNSW Newsroom