Micro-X has delivered CT images taken by its Head CT test bench showing the skull and soft tissue structure of the brain of an anthropomorphic head phantom.
Clinical leads at the Australian Stroke Alliance (ASA) determined that the images show detail of the sulci, ventricles and vascular anatomy in the supratentorial compartment. Micro-X says this marks a significant milestone achievement in the Head CT project. The company is now building hospital test benches that will support an application to the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s ethics committee, with human clinical trials planned to commence early this year.
Radiation measurements under this milestone determined the effective dose to a patient from Micro-X Head CT imaging is around one third of a conventional head CT dose. This is well below annual radiation exposure limits for members of the general public, the company says.
Micro-X ceo Kingsley Hall said: “The significance of this achievement in developing a world-first mobile head CT device should not be underestimated. The value of this technology goes beyond head imaging, enabling future opportunities including the next generation of full body CT imaging. We are committed to our purpose of creating revolutionary x-ray imaging that betters lives, and today’s achievement is another step forward in delivering on our promise.”
The Micro-X Head CT consists of an array of proprietary mini tubes, a novel curved detector, a rapid high voltage switching control system and Micro-X’s compact high voltage generator.
The advanced high voltage switching electronics turn the mini tube cathodes on and off in rapid succession at 100kV while the array is connected to Micro-X’s high voltage generator. CT images are reconstructed using an in-house image software framework and novel adaptive deep scatter estimation algorithms to generate three dimensional images. This core technology underpins the development of full body CT for ARPA-H (The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health).
The next milestone involves the building of three hospital test systems with demonstrated full diagnostic image quality to progress ethics approvals and commence live human imaging.
ASA co-chair Professor Geoffrey Donnan AO commented: “The strength of this technology is its lightweight, portable structure, which will make it ideal for use in pre-hospital settings, particularly in remote locations.”
Picture: Head CT images show the skull and soft tissue structure of the brain of an anthropomorphic phantom.
Read this report on page 16 of the January 2025 issue of RAD Magazine.