Researchers at Dundee University in Scotland have created a device that uses ultrasound waves to move a rubber disc floating in water, lifting it and making it spin. It is believed to be the first time that ultrasound waves have been used to rotate an object rather than just pushing it from point to point.
Physicists hope advances in this technology could improve ultrasound applications and techniques used in surgeries, possibly even eliminating the need to cut open a patient to treat them.
Quoting Dr Mike MacDonald, of the Institute for Medical Science and Technology (IMSAT) at Dundee:
“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, targeted drug delivery and ultrasonic manipulation of cells.
“The sonic screwdriver device is also part of the EU-funded nanoporation project where we are already starting to push the boundaries of what ultrasound can do in terms of targeted drug delivery and targeted cellular surgery.
“It is an area that has great potential for developing new surgical techniques, among other applications, something which Dundee is very much at the forefront of.
“Like Doctor Who’s own device, our sonic screwdriver is capable of much more than just spinning things around.”
Source: BBC News: Dr Who’s sonic screwdriver ‘invented’ at Dundee University
