UK researchers develop ultrasonic needle A University of
Glasgow-led project, which is developing this new type of
surgical needle, is one of 15 engineering projects to share in
12.2 million pounds of funding from the Engineering and Physical
Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Margaret Lucas, Professor of
Ultrasonics at the University's School of Engineering, and her
partner researchers at the Universities of Dundee and Edinburgh
have received 982,000 pounds to support three years of work to
develop a needle which vibrates at ultrasonic frequencies.
Previous ultrasonic cutting technology developed by Prof Lucas
and her team is capable of removing the shell of an egg without
damaging the membrane below. The technology would allow doctors
to penetrate bone with needles with much less force than is
currently required, improving the effectiveness of biopsies and
allowing a more effective delivery of drugs to parts of the body
obscured by bone. Ultrasonic needles could also make it easier
for doctors to penetrate