The current “gold standard” for tests to determine bladder disease are “invasive” tests – jamming things in peeholes. But there might be a better way soon: a simple, wireless near-infrared spectroscopy device strapped right above your bladder.
In a recent study in the International Journal of Spectroscopy, an NIRS device and its software measured “the differences in the amount of light shone through the skin to – and returning from – the bladder wall”, which let researchers look at micro-circulation in the bladder to see things like changing haemoglobin concentrations and how much oxygen is in the blood. From that data, it turns out, you can tell pretty easily if someone’s got a messed-up bladder. No pee-jamming necessary. [MedicalExpress]