WOBURN, MA /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced imaging technology from Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Inc. (CRi) was used in the most recent, ambitious Dead Sea Scrolls imaging project in Israel to reveal previously unseen text.
Dr. Gregory Bearman, retired Principal Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and current president of Snapshot Spectra in Pasadena, CA, traveled to the Israel Museum in August with one of CRi's Nuance multispectral imaging systems to take near-infrared pictures of the scrolls. The spectral data will be the key to a new conservation program to monitor the scrolls for changes. While some changes can be detected visually, the spectral data will quantify them and provide early warning before they are visible to the human eye.
CRi has developed sophisticated biomedical imaging systems that use wavelength-based information to reveal unseen details in specimens. These systems are used to assist with research in disease diagnosis and therapy development. Now, the system has been used to uncover original writing hidden on the discolored parchment and papyrus of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
"Today, with the recent development of advanced biomedical imaging technology, we have access to much more sophisticated imaging algorithms and easier-to-use digital instruments such as CRi's Nuance system," points out Bearman. "CRi's core technology and integrated imaging solutions are among the best in the business."
Indeed, now that there are digital images of the Dead Sea Scrolls available in conventional color and as multispectral image data, Bearman's goal is to make the entire collection available to everyone via the Internet over the next one-to-two years.
Nuance microscopy systems are in use worldwide by biologists and pathologists to uncover molecular markers in cancer cells and other specimens. And the same technology is found in CRi's Maestro(TM) imaging system used to detect tumors and other features in-vivo for pharmaceutical research and development.
"We concentrate on the biomedical imaging market, but as evidenced by Dr. Bearman's work, CRi's systems have potential applications in many areas and over a wide range of disciplines," explains George Abe, CRi's President and CEO. "While we work to improve health care on a daily basis, it is also rewarding to see our products being used to preserve antiquities for generations to come."
About Cambridge Research & Instrumentation
Cambridge Research & Instrumentation, Inc (CRi) is a Boston-based biomedical imaging company providing innovative optical imaging solutions for more than 20 years. CRi's multidisciplinary team is dedicated to providing comprehensive solutions that enable our customers to produce breakthroughs in research and medical care. CRi technology helps extract new disease-specific information from biological and clinical samples in the physiological, morphological, and biochemical context of intact tissues and organisms.
With over 80 patents pending and issued, CRi's award-winning innovations are being utilized around the world in a wide range of settings, ranging from academic researcher to pharmaceutical drug development to clinical medicine. CRi is headquartered in Woburn, MA, and operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. We are able to rapidly design and manufacture system- level solutions for a variety of growing market applications.