NextRay to develop UNC defraction-enhanced imaging technology
The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill has granted NextRay an exclusive license to develop and commercialize defraction enhanced imaging (DEI) technology, which creates x-ray images through the defraction instead of the absorption of x-ray beams.
The technology allows images to be made using fewer x-rays, exposing patients to a much lower dose of radiation, according to Etta Pisano, MD, vice dean for academic affairs in the UNC School of Medicine, and professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center; both located in Durham, N.C.
In DEI, scientists examine how beams pass through the tissue and how they bend and scatter. Because these properties vary more subtly between different types of tissue, the resulting images are clearer and more detailed than conventional x-rays.
“DEI technology could possibly enhance all types of x-ray imaging, including that used for the visualization of soft tissue pathology such as osteoarthritis bone and tendon injury and soft tissue tumors, such as breast cancer,” said Pisano, co-founder of the start-up company.
The technology allows images to be made using fewer x-rays, exposing patients to a much lower dose of radiation, according to Etta Pisano, MD, vice dean for academic affairs in the UNC School of Medicine, and professor of radiology and biomedical engineering and director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center; both located in Durham, N.C.
In DEI, scientists examine how beams pass through the tissue and how they bend and scatter. Because these properties vary more subtly between different types of tissue, the resulting images are clearer and more detailed than conventional x-rays.
“DEI technology could possibly enhance all types of x-ray imaging, including that used for the visualization of soft tissue pathology such as osteoarthritis bone and tendon injury and soft tissue tumors, such as breast cancer,” said Pisano, co-founder of the start-up company.