The Twelfth Doctor may have misplaced his sonic screwdriver, but it looks like scientists at the Institute for Medical Science and Technology at Dundee created an effective replacement.
The researchers created a prototype that uses ultrasound waves to lift objects. In this case it’s a disc floating in a cylinder of water. The Doctor, as in Dr. Mike MacDonald, believes the device has a lot of potential in the medical field.
“Like Doctor Who’s own device, our sonic screwdriver is capable of much more than just spinning things around.”
Ultrasound technology has been used to treat a variety of conditions without the need for surgery. With this new device, doctors could potentially perform procedures such as directing a drug capsule to a particular place in the body making treatment swifter and more helpful.
“This experiment not only confirms a fundamental physics theory but also demonstrates a new level of control over ultrasound beams which can also be applied to non-invasive ultrasound surgery, target drug delivery and ultrasonic manipulation of cells,” explains MacDonald.
While the sonic screwdriver in ‘Doctor Who’ was sometimes used as a medical scanner and healing wounds, this real world invention could potentially unlock more innovations in medicine.
Source: RadioTimes
