(Image shows chest X-ray of lungs taken with Direct Conversion’s Hydra FX50 detector)
Photon counting and direct conversion X-ray imaging have the potential to help clinicians reach better diagnoses in lung imaging, as this technology delivers specific advantages.
Recent advances in detector technology have enabled the volumes and rates of data that are required for the use of photon counting detectors in CT scanners. This means up to several hundred million photon interactions per mm2 per second. Signal and contrast to noise ratio is improved, X-ray dose to the patient is reduced and there is improved spatial resolution. Measuring energy resolution by determining the pulse height of the photon can achieve better tissue discrimination. So, a chest image could be viewed with, or without, the ribs to support clinical investigation.
At Direct Conversion we are developing a large-area, photon counting detector for use in future CT applications. Our expert teams are working on multiple energy bin technology to enable spectral imaging capabilities, increasingly known as colour X-ray.
We continue to collaborate with our colleagues in academia and clinicians who are at the forefront of healthcare, so we can design ever better diagnostic tools.