Changing the X-ray imaging landscape with printable detectors

**Silveray**（SilverRay Ltd）是一家初创公司，其主要目标是利用大面积高灵敏度宽带X射线探测器中开发的技术，颠覆当前最先进的X射线成像和相关应用。这种专有技术已被证明比传统探测器的灵敏度高2-3个数量级，同时能够在低电压下工作，并具有出色的非平坦表面适应性。随着X射线能量的增加，探测器材料对特定X射线能量的灵敏度从最先进探测器的每体积厚度的约100倍提高到1000倍以上。受专利保护的活性探测器材料由“X射线敏感油墨”组成，该油墨含有有机材料和无机纳米颗粒的互穿网络。“X射线敏感油墨”可用于在任何基底上涂覆薄膜，消除了开发柔性探测器的现有限制。到目前为止，小面积探测器该公司目前正在利用InnovateUK SMART赠款和第一轮风险投资，将该技术扩大到更大的尺寸。下一个挑战是将该技术推广到从工业产品的无损检测（NDT）到国防的各种应用。（边境和便携式安全），食品和药品的在线质量检测（包括饮料、杂货、药丸中的活性成分数量/质量），和医疗（包括牙科和癌症治疗，以实现更好的病人的结果）。该公司的 ** 愿景 ** 是生产一个市场验证的可打印的高-高性能直接转换X射线探测器，适用于多个学科的应用。挑战在于开发一种生产均匀混合物的制造工艺，并将其沉积在整个设备的厚膜中，以确保整个检测器（像素到像素）性能的一致性。该项目中的特性分析工作将使公司更好地了解如何优化X射线敏感油墨及其在每个应用所需的大面积探测器平面上的制造工艺。该项目的成果将通过提供可开发的路线来优化技术，从而促进公司的增长。直接探测器材料的活性和可扩展的基于纳米颗粒的层将提供具有所需响应时间、更高灵敏度、更低辐射剂量的高性能X射线成像仪，并且以相当低的成本生产。这将最终导致在许多领域开发出更高规格的可销售探测器产品系列。

**Silveray** (SilverRay Ltd) is a start-up company whose primary goal is to exploit the technology developed in large-area high-sensitivity broadband X-ray detectors to disrupt the current state-of-the-art in X-ray imaging, and associated applications. This proprietary technology has been demonstrated to be 2-3 orders of magnitude higher in its sensitivity than the conventional detectors, while being able to operate at low voltage, and with excellent conformability to non-flat surfaces. The sensitivity of the detector material to specific X-ray energies of technology interest improves from approximately 100 times to over 1000 times per volume thickness of the state-of-art detector with increasing X-ray energy.The active detector material that has been patent-protected consists of an 'X-ray sensitive ink' containing an interpenetrating network of organic material and inorganic nanoparticles. The 'X-ray sensitive ink' can be used to coat films over any substrate, removing existing constraints for developing flexible detectors. Thus far, small area detectors (area < 1 cm2) have been developed and proven, with scale-up to larger sizes now ongoing within the company thanks to an InnovateUK SMART grant and a first round of VC funding.The next challenge is to roll-out this technology for a diverse range of applications spanning from non-destructive testing (NDT) of industrial products to defence (border and portable security), in-line quality inspection of food & pharmaceutical products (including beverages, grocery products, active component quantities/quality in pills), and medical (including dental and cancer treatment to achieve better patient outcomes).The **vision** for the company is to produce a market-validated printable high-performance direct conversion X-ray detector for applications across multiple disciplines. Challenges lie in developing a manufacturing process for producing a uniform mixture and depositing it in a thick film across the device, to ensure consistency in performance across the detector (pixel-to-pixel). Characterisation work within the project will give the company a better understanding on how to optimise the X-ray sensitive ink and its fabrication processes across large area detector planes necessary for each of the applications.The outcome of this project will be in facilitating the company's growth by providing exploitable routes to optimise the technology. The active and scalable nanoparticle-based layer of the direct-detector material will deliver high performance X-ray imagers with the required response times, higher sensitivity, with lower radiation dose, and be produced at considerably lower cost. This will ultimately lead to the development of a product range of higher specification marketable detectors across many sectors.