Spectacular new images of the inside of the human body will help doctors save more lives, avoid pain and discomfort for patients and reduce national health costs, Federal Parliamentarians were told today.
Major advances in the diagnosis of breast and cervical cancer, skin cancer, lung disease and other potentially deadly conditions are on the way thanks to a revolution in the use of computers to analyse medical images such as X-rays, ultrasound and CAT-scans.
The new technology will enable surgeons to diagnose and repair a threatened burst aorta - without ever setting eyes or laying hands on it, Dr Laurie Wilson of CSIRO Telecommunications and Industrial Physics told a National Science Briefing in Parliament House, Canberra, today.
It will enable doctors to "fly" inside a patient's lungs to inspect potential disease, using a virtual reality technique for imaging the internal organs.
It will greatly improve the speed, accuracy and reliability of screening for conditions such as breast cancer and melanoma.
It will also bring "telemedicine", the diagnosis of medical conditions by experts located elsewhere, even thousands of kilometres distant, a step closer to reality.
CSIRO scientists are already developing a way to make 3-D models of a patient's own internal organs, so surgeons can plan the least-invasive form of treatment without first opening them up.
And they are working on "haptic" or artificial touch technology, which will enable doctors to rehearse a difficult operation, using a computer to create artificially a sense of feel for the organs they will operate on.
The managing director of Sydney medical technology firm Polartechnics PL, Mr Victor Skladnev, said his company had already developed a "doctor in a box" - a computerised device for detecting cervical cancer, which was due to undergo trials round the world in the next few months.
"This device enables a virtually untrained operator to detect the
early signs of cervical cancer," he explained.
Working with CSIRO and St Vincent's Hospital, Polartechnics, is also developing
a detector for melanoma, the skin cancer for which Australia has the highest
rates in the world.
"The average general practitioner sees only a few melanomas a year, and identifying them from other skin blemishes is not so simple. It can mean that up to half of all melanomas are missed, to begin with."
The Skin Polar Probe should change all that, by giving GPs the ability to diagnose suspected melanomas on-the-spot, enabling swift treatment if they are malignant and avoiding needless surgery if they are not. It will also keep track of a patient's moles, in case they develop into melanomas.
Australia is among the world leaders in developing expert systems and technologies for medical diagnosis, Mr Skladnev said.
"We believe there are massive export opportunities, worth billions of dollars, in areas such as breast and cervical screening, and melanoma detection, and that Australia has a big niche in this industry because of our highly accessible medical and scientific skills," he said.
Professor Bruce Doust of Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, said that the new technology meant much quicker and surer diagnosis for patients, night or day.
An "expert assistant" was already being trialled to increase the speed and accuracy of diagnosis of lung diseases from chest x-rays and report any abnormalities to doctors to supplement their own observations.
Such expert systems would provide instant expert advice for junior doctors
working on their own at night. They would assist nursing staff working
in remote areas such as aboriginal communities. They would help army doctors
with rapid diagnosis on a battlefield. And they would offer an invaluable
"second opinion" for skilled doctors in their daily work.
More information from:
Dr Laurie Wilson, CSIRO 02 9372 4160
Prof. Bruce Doust, St Vincents Hospital 02 9339 1111
Mr Victor Skladnev, Polartechnics PL 02 9358 3276
Carole David, CSIRO (media contact) 0419 259 560