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The pandemic has made a mockery of what had once been considered a pretty routine medical procedure: the insertion of an electron microscope in the ear canal to detect the flu virus.
But what was once considered routine now feels like something of a national emergency.
The electron microscope is a crucial tool for the medical community, especially for the first time in history, when a coronaviruses emergence is so fast and severe that it’s often impossible to know how the pandemic is affecting patients and their families.
It’s also a device that’s been a crucial part of medical research for decades.
The technology can pinpoint a specific particle that’s causing the disease and can then determine which parts of the body are being affected.
The latest update to the device, a $7.5 million upgrade that was ordered in February, adds a “pulse-sensitive” detector that can detect flu particles in just 10 seconds, and the first version of the device to be used for clinical trials.
“I can’t say enough about this upgrade to the electron microscope,” said Dr. James R. Fauci, an otolaryngologist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the lead author of a study on the upgrade published in the American Journal of Radiology.
“It’s a breakthrough in our understanding of the disease, the pathogen, and how to treat it.”
It also provides a new, more efficient way of detecting flu, which is now more common than ever, thanks to a global surge in flu cases that have accelerated since the pandemics peak in late 2015.
The new devices can be used to measure the flu’s spread from person to person, as well as in the lab.
The newest version of that same device, which has been used for nearly a decade to help diagnose patients and monitor their health, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is now being tested in the U.S. and in other countries.
“There’s been no other upgrade in terms of the number of people with flu that’s this efficient,” said Fau, who also is an associate professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the university.
Fau said the upgrade to that particular version of his electron microscope was a “critical step” in getting the technology approved.
But even though Fau was optimistic about the technology’s safety and effectiveness, he cautioned that more work needs to be done before it’s widely used.
He also said he hopes to get the device into clinical trials in the coming months, though he didn’t offer any specifics.
The new version of Fau’s electron microscope includes a new “pump and dump” pump that can deliver the electron to the surface of the flu patient’s head.
This pump can deliver particles smaller than 1 micron, which means the electron will reach the surface more quickly and accurately.
Fukushima falloutThe U.K.-based National Research Council, which oversees the government research arm of the British Royal Society, said the new version was the first to use a pulse-sensitive detector, and it’s the first such device to undergo FDA approval.
The company behind it, Fosilent, said it’s been testing the new device for a year and hopes to begin commercial use in early 2018.
Fusilent and other companies said the device’s new design allows it to reach the flu more quickly.
It uses a larger, single-piece metal disc that holds the particle in place.
The disc is thinner than before, allowing the particle to be moved more easily without it falling out.
The company said the design also reduces the risk of the electron getting sucked into a fluid inside the patient’s ear canal.
It says the new design has been proven in trials that measured flu levels within 10 seconds after a flu shot was administered to flu-infected people.
Families who have been dealing with flu can use the device because it’s more accurate than an electron microscopy.
But because of the sensitivity of the new electron microscope, the device can be useful in helping families pinpoint where their loved ones are getting sick, Fau said.
The National Institutes of Health said it has approved Fusilant’s new device to study the virus in the United States and overseas.
The institute’s director, Dr. David L. Langer, called the new system “a great addition to the field” and said it will “provide us with unprecedented insights into the pandoro virus, which poses a tremendous challenge for healthcare professionals.”
The new devices also are part of a growing body of research that suggests that a flu vaccine could be particularly helpful for some families who don’t have a vaccine.
The vaccine could also help combat the pandorees’ effect on the economy, Langer said, by helping reduce the amount of people on the dole.
Fou said Fosile’s new machine has
