The A to Z of wireless

X is for X-ray

Could nano-sized wireless devices drift around our veins and arteries in the not-too-distant future - monitoring the human body from within, transmitting health data and sending alerts in the event of medical emergencies such as a heart attack?

According to a 2008 report by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom, such wireless in-body technologies could make it out of the research labs in the next decade or two.

Ofcom reckons in-body networks could be implanted in patients to monitor their movements and/or vital health signs, such as blood sugar level.

Having gathered the information, the network could send it wirelessly via a home broadband hub or portable monitor to keep doctors informed of patients' progress.

Another medical use of wireless technology that's already in use are wireless detectors for digital X-rays systems - which convert X-ray radiation to digital image data.

Such gadgets make it more easy to X-ray certain areas of the body or less mobile patients as the detector can be brought to the patient rather than vice versa.