Characterisation of internal elements of an Ultra High Vacuum System

Medical imaging is a vital and informative method for doctors to obtain information about the inside of a patient's body - enabling them to make appropriate diagnosis and plan treatment.

The most commonly used type of medical imaging is based on X-rays and the core technology has not changed in over 100 years - fundamentally because of the need for large and immobile X-ray sources. X-rays generally only provide 2D images - which are of limited use as they are gross simplifications of the 3D human body, and the detailed information doctors often need is obscured by over and underlying body tissues.

3D imaging using X-rays relies on CT scanners - which are large expensive pieces of equipment, fixed in position and often with long wait times and travel for patients. Most importantly, CT scanning gives the patient a relatively large X-ray dose, which is a factor in deciding if it is best to subject a patient to a CT scan, as this is detrimental to health in itself.

By inventing a new type of miniaturised X-ray source and way of collecting information from a scan (together with new software) - Adaptix can produce low-cost 3D images rapidly from a portable device - which crucially gives the patient a much lower X-ray dose.

These 3D images give doctors much more information than a 2D scan and are comparable to CT images - which helps doctors make better diagnoses, and also plan and monitor treatment. Time to diagnosis should also be much faster for patients and this has an impact on cost saving for healthcare providers. Plus, the imaging can be brought to patients - vital for those unable to be moved easily (e.g. in intensive care units or old people's care homes) or into the wider community via poly-clinics and GP surgeries.

This grant would be used to solve the few remaining problems with the technology used in Adaptix's prototype, to ensure reliability and a sufficient product life-time before moving into full manufacture.

Adaptix is based in the UK - and employs over 30 staff at its R&D site. This number should grow significantly as it moves into manufacture and sales, creating high-value jobs and adding benefit to the wider UK economy and UK supply chain for the components Adaptix uses.