Approximately 12% of women have a false-positive result after one mammogram, and 60% have a falsepositive after ten yearly mammograms - resulting in the need for secondary screenings. The cost of unnecessarysecondary screenings, often due to the inability to differentiate between healthy and unhealthy tissue with thedesired accuracy, has been calculated to be $4 billion per year. Increasing the sensitivity of low exposure perframe X-ray detectors will reduce the need for unnecessary secondary screenings and improve patient outcomesvia enhanced image quality. Image quality largely depends on the response of the detector's sensor to X-rays, aka sensitivity.Sensitivity is dependent on the sensor's ability to generate as many X-ray liberated charge carriers as possiblethat will contribute towards the signal acquisition for an image. Sometimes this is referred to as the sensor'saverage ionization energy or internal gain. Direct conversion sensors (semiconductors), such as amorphousselenium (a-Se), have a low internal gain - making low exposure per frame applications like tomosynthesischallenging to generate signals above the noise of the electronics. Recently, new materials such as organic/inorganic metal halide perovskites have drawn attention for theirconsiderable stopping power of X-rays, efficient charge transfer properties, and ease of material synthesis.Additionally, graphene materials are known for their photoconductive gain and comfort of integration withconventional electronic platforms. Kairos Sensors LLC proposes a multi-pixel perovskite-graphene energyintegrating detector for X-ray imaging with vastly improved sensitivity and low power consumption for this PhaseI proposal. Kairos Sensors' innovation utilizes solution-processed perovskites grown directly from the conductivegraphene lattice and has shown ultra-high sensitivity with prototype single-pixel perovskite-graphene devices.This project aims to achieve a multi-pixel perovskite-graphene detector with high sensitivity via optimizedconfiguration of material composition and pixel dimensions. Phase I will focus on demonstrating an extremely sensitive multi-pixel perovskite-graphene detector.Phase II will focus on a more extensive pixel array and take images in preparation for commercialization.
Public Health Relevance Statement: Clinicians widely use medical x-ray imaging for injury and disease detection within the body.
Technology improvements that aim to reduce X-ray imaging costs and increase patient
diagnoses, including the ability to distinguish between similar density tissue types, would improve
patient outcomes based on medical imaging. The proposed medical imaging detector has
extremely high sensitivity in detecting mammography energy X-rays. This technology also
presents potentially lower manufacturing costs and demonstrates new technological
advancements that will increase medical imaging systems' capability.
Project Terms: Attention ; Charge ; Diagnosis ; Discrimination ; Cognitive Discrimination ; Disease ; Disorder ; Electronics ; electronic device ; Image Enhancement ; Mammography ; Mammogram ; mammographic Imaging ; mammographic examinations ; mammographic exams ; Maps ; Medical Imaging ; Metals ; Microscopy ; Scanning Electron Microscopy ; Noise ; Optics ; optical ; Patients ; Selenium ; Se element ; Semiconductors ; Signal Transduction ; Cell Communication and Signaling ; Cell Signaling ; Intracellular Communication and Signaling ; Signal Transduction Systems ; Signaling ; biological signal transduction ; Spectrum Analysis ; Spectroscopy ; Spectrum Analyses ; Raman Spectrum Analysis ; IR/UV/Raman Spectroscopy ; Raman Spectroscopy ; Raman spectrometry ; Technology ; Time ; Tissues ; Body Tissues ; Transistors ; Woman ; Diagnostic radiologic examination ; Conventional X-Ray ; Diagnostic Radiology ; Diagnostic X-Ray ; Diagnostic X-Ray Radiology ; Radiography ; Roentgenography ; X-Ray Imaging ; X-Ray Medical Imaging ; Xray imaging ; Xray medical imaging ; conventional Xray ; diagnostic Xray ; diagnostic Xray radiology ; Roentgen Rays ; X-Radiation ; X-Ray Radiation ; X-ray ; Xray ; Measures ; tau Proteins ; MT-bound tau ; microtubule bound tau ; microtubule-bound tau ; tau ; tau factor ; Ï Proteins ; Photons ; Injury ; injuries ; Tube ; base ; density ; detector ; sensor ; improved ; Area ; Phase ; Recovery ; perovskite ; CaTiO3 ; calcium titanium oxide ; Deposit ; Deposition ; Msec ; millisecond ; Dimensions ; early detection ; Early Diagnosis ; ionization ; Performance ; X ray diffraction ; Xray diffraction ; X ray diffraction analysis ; novel ; Devices ; Property ; response ; Thickness ; Thick ; Length ; Detection ; Patient-Focused Outcomes ; Patient outcome ; Patient-Centered Outcomes ; Preparation ; Process ; Image ; imaging ; cost ; imaging detector ; Consumption ; innovation ; innovate ; innovative ; prototype ; commercialization ; imaging system ; graphene ; tomosynthesis ; printed circuit board ;
