Researchers at Stanford University have developed the first non-invasive imaging technique able to detect micron-sized cerebrovascular structures as deep as 3 mm inside the brains of mice. The technique relies on detecting the intrinsic fluorescence of single-walled carbon nanotubes at near-infrared wavelengths of between 1.3 to 1.4 µm – the longest wavelengths for fluorescence imaging reported to date. It might be used to monitor blood flow in brain blood vessels, which is important for people who have had a stroke, and to image changes in the structure of these vessels for patients with Alzheimer’s, brain tumours and brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM)….
http://nanotechweb.org/cws/article/tech/58149