Space technology is used to develop portable X-ray machine of the future
REVOLUTIONARY technology originally developed for use on space satellites is being used to design X-ray machines no bigger than a laptop computer.
Radius Diagnostics has moved into the European Space Agency's Business Incubation Centre in Oxfordshire to carry out further research and development on the new imaging technology, which is aimed at hospitals, care homes and accident sites.
The company is working alongside the California nanoSystems Institute to commercialise the Microemitter Array X-ray (MAX) technology, which was originally developed by the Science and Technology Facilities Council for ESA satellites.
Mark Evans of Radius explained: “A scanner based on MAX technology will be 20 times lighter than any existing portable X-ray system, allowing it to be more easily operated at the bedside or accident site, and avoiding causing further discomfort to patients by moving them to X-ray suites. A truly portable MAX-based system weighing less than 10kg, will save hospital staff valuable time as current moveable X-ray machines, weighing 250kg or more, can take considerable time to position and get ready.”
Comparing the impact the technology would have to the shift from old-style televisions to flat-screen models, he said the device would be around half the cost of current equivalents, making it an option for GP surgeries and polyclinics, as well as acute hospital settings. In addition, MAX sources are pixelated in the same way as an LCD computer screen, allowing clinicians to selectively control the emission of X-rays and enable the patient’s radiation burden to be reduced.
Evans said: “Ultimately this new, lightweight X-ray technology could be used by paramedics at patients’ own homes and even by the Armed Forces in the field. We see a world where patients will be imaged ahead of transportation, allowing the images to be read immediately at the receiving hospital while the patient is in transit, or before even being moved if a spinal injury is suspected, saving vital time in treating critical injuries.”
The firm has been awarded £40,000 to continue developing the system at the space centre in Oxfordshire and hopes to have it on the market within three years.