LANL-developed technology offers promise of safer X-rays

by Wanyi Nie

Most of us have to get X-rayed from time to time, whether it’s for a checkup at the dentist, a broken bone, or soft tissue imaging for things like mammograms or checking for lung diseases.

Apart from medical examinations, X-ray diagnostic tools are widely used in research institutions and labs for nondestructive probes. Modern X-rays require a much lower dose of radiation than they once did, but the X-ray technician is still likely to drape you in a lead apron to prevent inadvertent exposure of other areas of your body.

A new X-ray detector prototype is on the brink of revolutionizing medical imaging, potentially reducing the need for (or at least the weight of) a lead apron. The advance could dramatically decrease medical radiation exposure, while also boosting resolution in security scanners and research applications, thanks to a novel type of electronics being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in coordination with Argonne National Laboratory researchers.

Read the rest of the story as it appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican.