Lasers and LEDs are good for a lot more than Pink Floyd laser light shows or tormenting your cat with that red dot that can never be caught. Lasers and LEDs can also be used to save lives. 

From X-Rays to MRIs to CT scans, light has long been a tool of the medical profession for seeing inside the body and diagnosing illnesses. Increasingly powerful and inexpensive computers, as well as the introduction of plastic lenses and the accessibility of low-cost optics systems, ensures that we will see this trend continue paralleling new breakthroughs in the field.

In the recent news, lasers have been used to measure brain waves to determine pain response. Similarly, they’re being used for previously painful cervical examinations for women, reducing discomfort and examination length. Lasers are also starting to replace the x-rays traditionally used in mammography.

Cancer cells are far easier to detect and measure using laser technology. Where melanomas used to be measured with traditional methods (by a doctor’s eyesight), they are now measured much more accurately using lasers. This helps specialists monitor melanoma growth rates and respond more appropriately with particular treatments.

Lasers are also used in optical coherence tomography and can give high-resolution (on the order of microns), cross-sectional, and three-dimensional images of biological tissue in real time. Ophthalmologists use this technology to see a cross section of the cornea in order to diagnose retinal disease and glaucoma.

X-rays, which have previously been enormous and prohibitively expensive, are shrinking, getting small enough to fit on the back of a small truck. This adaptation alone promises to improve response time, help medical professionals find tumors earlier in underserved populations, study extremely fast reactions that occur too rapidly for observation with conventional x-rays, or detect nuclear materials concealed within a shielded container.

All of these add to illustrate how the changing field of lenses and light is an exciting and flourishing industry, changing and growing daily.


Contact us about our custom optical systems, which include projections, LED, laser illuminations and imaging systems. We would be happy to discuss how our company can benefit yours. E-mail us at info@greenlightoptics.com or give us a call at 513.247.9777.