§ Mr. Neaveasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what success the National Institute for Medical Research has had in the development of the use of electronic devices in clinical diagnosis.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethA small electronic capsule known as the "radio pill" has been developed in a variety of forms. When swallowed, this device converts physical and chemical changes occurring in the grasto-intestinal tract into electrical signals which can be recorded externally.
The signals transmitted by the "radio pill" yield information about conditions inside the body that are difficult to obtain by any other means.
§ Mr. Neaveasked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what uses have been discovered for radioactive isotopes of gases in the investigation of pulmonary disorders.
§ Mr. Denzil FreethRadioactive oxygen and carbon dioxide prepared in the Medical Research Council's cyclotron at the Post-graduate Medical School of London (Hammersmith Hospital) have been used to investigate the ventilation and blood flow of the lungs in patients with pulmonary and cardiac disease.
In particular radioactive oxygen has been of great value in the investigation of patients with localising lung disease before surgical operations.