Novel High-Resolution Scintillation X-ray Detectors for Digital Dentistry

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Project Summary: Novel High-Resolution Scintillation X-ray Detectors for Digital Dentistry The transition from traditional film to digital X-ray detectors has resulted in significant improvements across many areas for dental X-ray imaging ranging from decreased wait times, improved logistics and even lower radiation dose rates. One significant drawback remains with digital X-ray imaging however, which is that current digital X-ray detectors used in dental imaging have suboptimal spatial resolution performance. The image resolution for digital detectors is often inferior to what was previously achieved using traditional film. This poses a problem when it is necessary to image small features for various diagnoses and procedures within the field of dentistry. NGS Detectors, LLC, in collaboration with partners at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) and Brown University have developed a high-resolution structured scintillator that can be optically coupled with small pixel-pitch CCD and CMOS photodetector chips to achieve spatial resolution performance up to an order of magnitude better than current state-of-the-art digital X-ray detectors used in dental imaging. This novel design minimizes photon radial spread inherent to scintillators by using principles of geometric confinement. Ordered optical microchannels with diameters as small as 5 microns are infiltrated with high quantum-efficiency scintillating polymers. This STTR Phase 1 proposes to further develop geometrically confined scintillators and couple them to small pixel-pitch CDD or CMOS photodetector chips in order to maximize spatial resolution performance for intraoral dental X-ray imaging. The first step is to demonstrate that microchannel confinement of scintillators when coupled to CCD and CMOS sensors will result in significant gains in spatial resolution. The second step is to characterize the quantum efficiency and photon yield and develop an optical model that provides a basis for comparing dose rates. Finally, optical engineering improvements will be tested to maximize the quantum efficiency and minimize the dose required for imaging using the detector system.