Opportunities for the transfer of astronomical technology to medicine

Abstract

There are many examples of technology transfer from astronomy to medicine, for example algorithms for reconstructing X-ray CT images were first developed for processing radio astronomy images. In more recent times, X-ray detectors developed for the Hubble Space Telescope have been used in a fine-needle breast biopsy system. Software originally developed to mosaic planetary images has been incorporated into a system for detecting breast cancer. Australia has expertise in the development of instrumentation for producing radio images from an array of radio telescopes and in multi-object fibre systems for capturing the spectra of hundreds of stellar objects simultaneously. Two possible applications of these Australian technologies are suggested that may merit further exploration. A meeting between interested parties is suggested to discuss future directions and funding.