Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Medical imaging

Material change for X-ray detectors

Nature volume 550, pages 47–48 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

The X-ray sensitivity of radiology instruments is limited by the materials used in their detectors. A material from the perovskite family of semiconductors could allow lower doses of X-rays to be used for medical imaging. See Letter p.87

X-ray imaging is essential for medical applications, but the images produced can be too grainy and blurry for certain purposes. It would also be desirable to lower the radiation doses required, to reduce the risk of harming patients. On page 87, Kim et al.1 report that a semiconductor previously used in solar cells can be repurposed in X-ray detectors, and can produce sharper images using lower doses than are possible with currently available detectors. Moreover, the process used to make the detectors should allow the devices to be manufactured more cheaply than existing detectors.

This is a preview of subscription content

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

Figure 1: Structure of a direct-conversion flat-panel X-ray detector.

References

  1. Kim, Y. C. et al. Nature 550, 87–91 (2017).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Reiner, B. I., Siegel, E. L. & Siddiqui, K. J. Digit. Imaging 16, 324–330 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Rowlands, J. A. Phys. Med. Biol. 47, R123–R166 (2002).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Yorkston, J. & Rowlands, J. in Handbook of Medical Imaging Vol. 1 (eds Van Metter, R. L., Beutel, J. & Kundel, H. L.) 223–328 (SPIE Press, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Kojima, A., Teshima, K., Shirai, Y. & Miyasaka, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 6050–6051 (2009).

    CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Sutherland, B. R. & Sargent, E. H. Nature Photon. 10, 295–302 (2016).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Yakunin, S. et al. Nature Photon. 9, 444–449 (2015).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Shrestha, S. et al. Nature Photon. 11, 436–440 (2017).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Physical Sciences Division, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, M4N 3M5, Canada

    John A. Rowlands

Authors
  1. John A. Rowlands
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John A. Rowlands.

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Imaging techniques: MRI illuminated by γ-rays

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Rowlands, J. Material change for X-ray detectors. Nature 550, 47–48 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/550047a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/550047a

Further reading

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing