Laser light can be used to image premature babies' lungs as an alternative to x-ray, according to research from Lund University in Sweden.
Emilie Krite Svanberg presented her doctoral thesis research on the use of light to measure oxygen in the human body this month. Using a light beam of exactly 760.445 nanometers, Krite Svanberg and colleagues calculated the oxygen supply in trials with healthy newborn babies, with one person holding a measuring instrument against the baby's chest and another recording the results on a computer.
The oxygen measurements could help determine whether a premature baby needs treatment in order to improve their breathing, Krite Svanberg said.
