Technology Can Be Used in Diagnostic Imaging, Medical Dosimetry and Homeland Security
04/14/2017
By Edwin L. Aguirre
Prof. Erno Sajo of 51视频鈥檚 Department of Physics and Applied Physics, in collaboration with researchers from Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital in Boston led by Prof. Piotr Zygmanski, has developed a new class of inexpensive nanofilm radiation detectors that can be used in everything from health care to homeland security. The device uses thin-film sensors to harness the energy of the radiation it detects to power itself.
鈥淯nlike existing technology, the detector does not need an external power supply or even signal amplification to operate,鈥� says Sajo, who is an expert in medical physics and radiological science. 鈥淎nother important property is that it is flexible, able to conform to curved shapes while being largely transparent to radiation. The detector鈥檚 cost per unit area is only a fraction of that of current detectors. Depending on the detector鈥檚 resolution and application, the cost to fabricate the detector array can range from a few dollars to several hundred dollars per square feet.鈥�
Sajo says nanofilms, measuring only a few billionths of a meter in thickness, are suitable for a variety of applications, from national security and nondestructive testing to medical imaging and cancer treatment.
The photo shows a prototype of the new radiation detector being developed by Prof. Erno Sajo and his co-researchers. The sensor (dark brown) measures approximately one square inch and a few hundred nanometers thick.
鈥淚n medicine, it can replace or augment existing radiation detectors that are part of fluoroscopy systems and image-guided radiotherapy in hospitals. In a CT scanner, it can tell the patient鈥檚 dose to X-rays. It can also monitor the radiation sources used in the treatment of prostate cancer,鈥� says Sajo.
鈥淲hen fully developed, this device has the potential to be implantable in living patients, one that will wirelessly transmit its signal to simultaneously tell doctors its exact location in the body as well as the radiation dose it receives in real time, while the radiation beam is targeting the tumor. In this way, movement of the patient鈥檚 organs will no longer affect the beam鈥檚 targeting precision,鈥� he adds.
Image by Edwin L. Aguirre
Prof. Erno Sajo directs the university鈥檚 medical physics program. He studies the fundamental interactions between radiation and biological matter, with particular emphasis on cancer therapy.
The Thinner, the Better
The sensor can detect the type and intensity of ionizing radiation as well as the location of its emission in a single instrument, and it employs simple electronics to report digital signals that may be transmitted wirelessly, Sajo explains.
鈥淭he device is also scalable, meaning we can create the sensor in any size, from a fraction of a square inch to many square feet in area, and operate it either in pixelated array or as a single continuous sheet,鈥� he notes.
鈥淭he nanofilm sensor鈥檚 efficiency actually increases with decreasing thickness,鈥� Sajo adds. 鈥淭he best performance is achieved when the sensor is organized in layers of a few hundred nanometers each.鈥�