Surrey University looks into creating safer X-rays

According to a team of researchers at Surrey University, there are a few important rules that must be followed for creating curved X-ray detectors. This has the potential to make the practice safer and clearer.

Digital flat panel detectors allow radiographers to look at X-rays faster than sensitive photographic films. They also enable them to speed up the diagnosis process. But there is a problem with this, flat panels are no compatible with the human body, and they warp the borders of images.

People have tried to manufacture and produce detectors that are malleable, however these attempts have failed up to this point. This is because they consist of semiconductors which are brittle in nature. A small amount of ‘bend’ has been accomplished by using a thinner semiconductor layer, however this has been proved to produce images that are lower quality.

Surrey University’s Advanced Technology Institute partnered with the University of Bologna, Sheffield University, and the National Physics Laboratory to carry out a study. They have released research results that show certain geometric and connectivity restrictions to ensure sufficient margins for ‘inorganic in organic’ semiconductors.

Stronger curved digital detectors with digital film or high sensitivity can be made by doing molecular weight tuning on the bismuth oxide nanoparticle sensitized organic semiconductors.

Lead author of the study, Prabodhi Nanayakkara, said “Our curved detector concept has shown exceptional mechanical robustness and enables bending radii as small as 1.3mm. The use of organic or ‘inorganic in organic’ semiconductors is also far more cost effective than conventional inorganic semiconductors made from silicon or germanium, which require expensive crystal growth methods. Our approach potentially offers a significant commercial advantage.”

Director of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute, Professor Ravi Silva, said that “This technology has huge potential in medical applications and other X-ray uses, so we’re working with a spinout company, SilverRay, and hope to turn this technology into the X-ray detector of choice for high sensitivity, high resolution, flexible large area detectors.”