Structured Glass-Ceramic Scintillators

Background

Indirect flat-panel detectors (I-FPDs) are the predominant technology used in digital radiography (DR) and electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs). However, their performance drops significantly at higher energy levels because a large fraction of incident x-rays pass through the scintillating conversion layer without being detected. In high-energy digital radiography operating at 80 keV or greater, state-of-the-art detectors are capped at a Detective Quantum Efficiency (DQE) of approximately 50%, which degrades image quality and complicates clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, at megavoltage energy levels, standard I-FPD–based electronic portal imaging devices exhibit a very low DQE of around 1%, severely restricting image resolution and low-dose imaging efficiency.

Technology

Researchers at Stony Brook University and the University of Tennessee have developed a novel structured x-ray scintillating material and a versatile patterning method that allows for thicker, highly absorbing conversion layers while constraining light within light-channeling arrays to prevent light scattering. This structure captures previously undetected x-rays, leading to improved efficiency and reduced dose in digital radiography.

Advantages

• Versatile patterning method
• Improved quality/dosage tradeoff for DR
• Non-hygroscopic, mechanically rugged, customizable, and cheaper to synthesize than halide scintillators.
• Lowers PET detector module costs while boosting overall system performance.
• Enhances image clarity at lower radiation doses for megavoltage CBCT and radiotherapy portal imaging

Application

• Digital Radiography operating at high x-ray energies (≥80 keV)
• Radiotherapy & Electronic Portal Imaging Devices operating at MeV energies
• Megavoltage Cone-Beam Computed Tomography systems
• Positron Emission Tomography detector modules