Technology
1MICRON addresses a fundamental gap in medical imaging. Today's X-ray detectors have a resolution of around 300 micrometres – far from the 1–2 micrometres achieved in histopathology. Closing this gap would enable real-time imaging of tumour margins directly in the operating theatre.
The technology
The project develops monolithic silicon sensors where CMOS electronics are integrated directly into the sensor chip. Using an edge-on "deep silicon" geometry, the sensors achieve high detection efficiency across a wide energy range. By fitting a Gaussian distribution to the charge cloud created by each X-ray interaction, the project achieves a spatial resolution down to 1 micron – approximately ten times higher than what is conventionally possible.
Combined with grating-based phase-contrast imaging, the sensor can directly measure the interference pattern without an analyser grating – making the technique five times more dose-efficient than current methods.
Clinical impact
In Europe, between 10 and 30 per cent of cancer surgeries must be followed by a second operation because tumour margins were insufficient. With 1MICRON imaging available in the operating theatre, more than 100,000 such reoperations could be avoided every year in Europe alone.
The technology could also form the basis for next-generation computed tomography, providing higher resolution and contrast than today's photon-counting CT scanners.
The project runs from 1 March 2025 to 28 February 2029.