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| CATHRIN DE NOOYER WANTS TO CRANK UP THE POWER ON CATSCANS |
| 2003年09月02日15:20:14 |
To analyze a fossil, scientists usually saw it up into thin slices. This destroys the fossil and takes days. But a catscan can take a picture of a fossil in just ten minutes.
Catscans of Fossils:
CATHRIN DE NOOYER WANTS TO CRANK UP THE POWER ON CATSCANS.
DeNooyer: "we're exploring the envelope of the medical machines to see how far we can push them . . . without burning up the catscan."
PUT THAT WAY, IT DOESN'T REALLY SOUND LIKE SOMETHING YOU'D REALLY LIKE THE DOCTOR TO USE TO TAKE PICTURES OF YOUR HEAD. . . AND YOU'D BE RIGHT.
DeNooyer: "that isn't safe for humans."
BUT DE NOOYER ISN'T INTERESTEDIN HUMANS. SHE'S STUDYING PALEONTOLOGY AT PURDUE UNIVERSITY AND SHE USES CATSCANS TO EXAMINE FOSSILS. TO SEE THE INSIDE OF A FOSSIL, PALEONTOLOGISTS USUALLY CUT THE ROCK INTO THIN, THIN SLICES AND THEN EXAMINE THE CONTOURS OF EACH SLICE TO RECREATE WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE IN 3-D. THIS DESTROYS THE FOSSIL AND, WHAT'S MORE, IT TAKES DAYS.
DeNooyer: "Normally what would take 50-100 hours to prepare. . .took me 10 seconds to run through the catscan."
IT MAKES SENSE, BUT CATSCANS JUST WEREN'T BUILT TO LOOK INTO SOMETHING AS HARD AS A FOSSIL. DE NOOYER HAS BEEN TRAVELLING AROUND TO HOSPITALS AND ADJUSTING THE CONTROLS TO CRANK UP THE POWER.
DeNooyer: "what I'm doing is saying okay this medical catscan which is used to scan in something that's soft and fleshy like a human body, what settings do I need to give it so that I can see what's inside of a rock."
SHE'S MANAGED TO MAKE IT WORK.
DeNooyer: "I can do some really groovy pictures."
NOW SHE'S TRYING TO TEACH OTHER SCIENTISTS ABOUT THE CATSCAN'S NEW IMAGE.
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