A MODEL of the way terahertz radiation interacts with skin has explained why it is so good for spotting skin cancer.
T-rays have a frequency between the infrared and microwave ranges, and they can penetrate the top few millimetres of skin, the region where skin cancers grow. Clinical trials of a scanner that uses T-rays to map the extent of skin cancers are already under way at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, UK, and the preliminary results are very promising – cancerous tissue stands out clearly (New Scientist, 30 August 2003, p 11).
But why? The company developing the scanner, TeraView,…
