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Has your doctor ever operated on you using a dull three-foot long sword, given you an allergy injection using a quarter inch thick needle, or checked your reflexes with a sledgehammer? If your answer is "yes," you should probably find a new HMO! Humans are precision machines and doctors must use delicate tools to successfully cure what ales ya.

The little gizmo pictured here may be the first of a new wave of precision equipment which will help doctors make cleaner cuts, deliver painless injections, and gain information even as they are cutting away on their patients. These new wonder tools are made from silicon - the same material used for making integrated circuits in computers.

According to electrical and computer engineer Amit Lal, the man who invented this new use for silicon, the tools are inexpensive and highly effective - the blades are up to 10 times sharper than advanced medical tools made from metal. This is accomplished by creating tiny tools which use a process called ultrasonics - sonic vibrations which are so fast that they are beyond human perception.

Silicon allows machine-makers to integrate mechanical and electric features that will allow doctors to receive information from the tools as they are being used. For example, a doctor who is performing a delicate cataract operation might receive information about the type of tissue that he is cutting away. In turn, this will allow him to target only unhealthy tissue while leaving healthy areas unscathed.

Better yet, the technology makes truly painless needles a distinct possibility. By creating a needle that vibrates extremely quickly, it is possible to cut tissue using less force. In turn, this makes it possible to break through skin without disturbing nerve cells by pushing or pulling tissue.

Courtesy Office of News and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Photo by Jeff Miller.


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			Better Tools, Better Doctors Has your doctor ever operated on you using a dull three-foot long sword, given you an allergy injection using a quarter inch thick needle, or checked your reflexes with a sledgehammer? If your answer is "yes," you should probably find a new HMO! Humans are precision machines and doctors must use delicate tools to successfully cure what ales ya. The little gizmo pictured here may be the first of a new wave of precision equipment which will help doctors make cleaner cuts, deliver painless injections, and gain information even as they are cutting away on their patients. These new wonder tools are made from silicon - the same material used for making integrated circuits in computers. According to electrical and computer engineer Amit Lal, the man who invented this new use for silicon, the tools are inexpensive and highly effective - the blades are up to 10 times sharper than advanced medical tools made from metal. This is accomplished by creating tiny tools which use a process called ultrasonics - sonic vibrations which are so fast that they are beyond human perception. Silicon allows machine-makers to integrate mechanical and electric features that will allow doctors to receive information from the tools as they are being used. For example, a doctor who is performing a delicate cataract operation might receive information about the type of tissue that he is cutting away. In turn, this will allow him to target only unhealthy tissue while leaving healthy areas unscathed. Better yet, the technology makes truly painless needles a distinct possibility. By creating a needle that vibrates extremely quickly, it is possible to cut tissue using less force. In turn, this makes it possible to break through skin without disturbing nerve cells by pushing or pulling tissue. Courtesy Office of News and Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Photo by Jeff Miller.