XFEL: Investigation of cavitation damage of soft matter

At the MID (Materials Imaging & Dynamics) Instrument, Tim Salditt from the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen is investigating damage to biological tissue or soft matter that can be caused by so-called cavitation. This refers to the collapse of tiny bubbles. Their collapse can lead to damage, for example, during medical treatments such as the disintegration of bladder or kidney stones with highly focussed ultrasound, or during innovative therapies with pulsed lasers, as well as during the targeted delivery of drugs that release drugs wrapped in gels at the desired location in a patient's body when they are sonicated from the outside. Using high-speed X-ray imaging at European XFEL, Salditt is closely examining this process in order to make a realistic assessment of the damage in order to minimise these unwanted side effects.

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