Doctors tracking the progress of a disease for research or treatment must often gather detailed information from inside the body. They may need, for example, to take the temperature of a malignant tumor at several spots or check the blood flow and oxygen levels in a diabetic's limb threatened with amputation.

One way of taking these measurements is with needlelike probes. Ideally, a single probe could collect several types of information, eliminating the need for multiple instruments and, for the patient, multiple pinpricks. While only single-purpose devices have been available, a needle that has been under development by MIT researchers could someday fit the bill.