Scientists from Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a groundbreaking tool called “fast-RSOM” that can take detailed pictures of tiny blood vessels right through the skin. The exciting part?
This can be done without any painful or invasive procedures. This new technology may help doctors find early signs of heart disease long before symptoms appear, giving people a better chance at preventing serious health issues.
Heart disease often starts deep in the body’s smallest blood vessels. One of the earliest signs is called microvascular endothelial dysfunction, or MiVED. This means the tiny blood vessels can no longer expand and contract as they should.
Until now, doctors had no way to see these early changes in a safe and noninvasive way. But with fast-RSOM, that’s finally possible.
Fast-RSOM works by using light to create sound waves, which are then turned into very detailed 3D images. This method is known as RSOM, which stands for Raster Scan Optoacoustic Mesoscopy.
It gives doctors a clear picture of the blood vessels, their oxygen levels, and even changes in the tissue—all from outside the body. The images it creates are so detailed that it can show individual capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in the body.
According to Dr. Hailong He, one of the researchers, this is the first time scientists have been able to look at these changes at such a tiny scale in living humans. Dr. Angelos Karlas, a co-lead on the project, says the new method offers a view into how heart disease begins in the microvessels—something that has never been possible before.
The early signs that fast-RSOM can detect are usually caused by risk factors like smoking, high blood pressure, or obesity. These risk factors damage the blood vessels long before a person feels sick. Fast-RSOM doesn’t just guess based on these risks—it shows actual damage in the blood vessels.
This means doctors could one day use it to find problems early and help patients make changes before the disease gets worse.
The team hopes to test the tool on larger and more diverse groups of people to confirm how well it works. Because fast-RSOM is portable, fast, and doesn’t involve needles or surgery, it might one day be used in regular clinics to screen for heart disease. It could become part of yearly check-ups, especially for people with known risk factors.
Professor Vasilis Ntziachristos, who led the development of the technology, believes it could change how heart disease is treated. By finding the problem early, doctors can start treatment sooner, possibly preventing strokes or heart attacks, and even saving lives. It could also reduce healthcare costs by avoiding expensive emergency treatments later on.
This new tool could also help track how well treatments or lifestyle changes are working. For example, if a patient quits smoking or starts exercising more, fast-RSOM might show how their blood vessels are healing over time.
In the future, fast-RSOM may also help detect other diseases that damage small blood vessels, like diabetes. Its compact design means it could bring high-tech diagnosis tools to local clinics, not just big hospitals or research labs.
This major advancement in medical imaging was made possible by a team led by Professor Ntziachristos at Helmholtz Munich and TUM. Their work shows how science and technology can come together to improve health care for everyone.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about top foods to love for a stronger heart, and why oranges may help fight obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
For more health information, please see recent studies about simple guide to a 7-day diabetes meal plan, and why you should add black beans to your plate.
The study is published in Light: Science & Applications.
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