Frontiers in Physics (Feb 2020)

Medical Applications of Tissue-Equivalent, Organic-Based Flexible Direct X-Ray Detectors

  • Laura Basiricò,
  • Laura Basiricò,
  • Andrea Ciavatti,
  • Andrea Ciavatti,
  • Ilaria Fratelli,
  • Ilaria Fratelli,
  • Diego Dreossi,
  • Giuliana Tromba,
  • Stefano Lai,
  • Piero Cosseddu,
  • Annalisa Bonfiglio,
  • Francesco Mariotti,
  • Carlo Dalla Val,
  • Valerio Bellucci,
  • John E. Anthony,
  • Beatrice Fraboni,
  • Beatrice Fraboni

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2020.00013
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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The aim of this study is to assess direct X-ray detectors based on organic thin films, fabricated onto flexible plastic substrates, and operating at ultra-low bias (<1 V), for different medical applications. With this purpose, flexible fully organic pixelated X-ray detectors have been tested at the imaging beamline SYRMEP (SYnchrotron Radiation for MEdical Physics) at the Italian synchrotron Elettra, Trieste. The detectors' performance has been assessed for potential employment both as reliable wearable personal dosimeters for patients and as flexible X-ray medical imaging systems. A spatial resolution of 1.4 lp mm−1 with a contrast of 0.37 has been evaluated. Finally, we validate the detector using X-ray doses and energies typically employed for actual medical radiography, and using X-ray beam pulses provided by a commercial dental radiography system, recording a sensitivity of 1.6 × 105 μC Gy−1 cm−3 with a linear response with increasing of the dose rates and a reliable signal to 100 ms X-rays pulses.

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