The first truly flexible digital X-ray detector will be aimed at industrial radiography applications, as it can be wrapped around pipes and fed into tight spaces to check for corrosion and weld defects.
Digital images will be generated at the point of use, without the film having to be sent away for chemical processing – saving time and money compared with traditional radiographic film.
The technology also has the potential to transform medical imaging – and help detect and treat diseases such as cancer more accurately than ever before. A flexible mammography detector, for example, could be shaped around the breast without the need for uncomfortable compression. And radiotherapy patients undergoing Gamma Knife treatment could be fitted with a bespoke skull cap offering real-time monitoring of the treatment beam.
Silveray’s approach involves the use of its novel nanoparticle-based X-ray conversion material, which is produced as a semiconductor ink and then deposited onto a pixel backplane. The electronics layer translates the signal from incoming X-rays into a digital image.
The ink layer can be tuned to increase or decrease the fraction of X-rays that interact with it and the electronics layer can be changed to output different pixel sizes, depending on the image quality required. The size and shape of the detector can also be customised for each application – including the option of having a permanently curved or flexible detector.
“Our technology holds the promise of high-performance X-ray imaging at a sustainable cost point – in contrast to existing digital flat panel detectors, which are rigid and require a trade-off between cost, performance and efficiency,” said Silveray CEO Dan Cathie. “This seed funding will enable us to complete development of our first product ready for launch next year.”
As well as existing investors Northern Gritstone and ACF Investors, the investor consortium also includes new Silveray investors Empirical Ventures, Deeptech Labs and Hamamatsu Ventures.
