.webp)
University of Houston develops advanced 3D imaging for precise, cost-effective medical diagnostics.
Scientists at the University of Houston have created a ground-breaking 3D imaging technique that has the potential to revolutionize medical diagnosis, providing quick, accurate, and affordable replacement for conventional X-rays and MRI scans. Initiated by Mini Das, the Moores professor at UH's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Cullen College of Engineering, the technology incorporates photon counting detectors and sophisticated software to improve accuracy in medical images.
Published in the Journal of Medical Imaging, Das's study describes how the detectors can detect X-ray photons at several energy levels, much like a prism disperses light into various colors. This enables distinguishing between different materials in the body, enhancing fracture detection, soft tissue damage detection, and even cancerous tumor detection.
In contrast to conventional X-rays, which can only differentiate between bone and soft tissue, this technique yields a qualitative analysis of various contrast agents, including iodine and gadolinium. Being able to distinguish two contrast agents at once would change cancer detection forever. Injecting two contrast agents, one to target tumors and one to target inflammation, could allow doctors to see abnormalities more clearly. Yet, Das adds, certain materials have similar X-ray properties, so it would be difficult to differentiate them. To solve the problem, her group has devised a calibration method that compensates for detector distortions so material decomposition from the same CT data can be done more accurately.
While the technology has yet to leave the research phase, UH researchers are working with industry partners in Europe on scaling up the detectors and increasing their accuracy. Beyond medicine, the discovery could have uses in security scanning, geophysics, and microelectronics imaging. Supported by NSF, CDMRP, and NIH, the project also will work on developing low-dose Micro-CT for safer image solutions.
.webp)
.webp)
