Since its discovery by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, the X -rays have become a basic element of modern medical carefrom obtaining broken bone images to the detection of the first signs of different types of tumors.
The most common type of X -ray detector used in medical images today It uses materials known as spint -stop, manufactured with inorganic and rigid compounds.
The twinkling crystals are materials that They emit visible light when exposed to ionizing radiation, such as X -rays. This light is what allows “to photograph” the interior of our body. But all its operation is based on large structures that complicate their transfer and posture of patients.
This inherent lack of flexibility limits its applications and, often, It forces patients to contort their body to accommodate the rigid medical team.
Logically, this has created a need for devices with greater flexibility and, at least, the same efficiency. However, previous attempts have not been successful … until now. A Innovative fabric made of flexible inorganic fibers would be able to fulfill the expected promises.
According to a recent study published in Science Advances, it is A flexible, totally inorganic metate, which offers a power 10 times higher than that of the previous spindlers based in polYomere flexible.
This fabric, developed by Li Xu and his team at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, could Revolutionize the way X -ray images are obtained and allow health monitoring and X -rays protection through portable devices.
“This work offers a previously indefinite paradigm for a scintillation systems design strategy that maintains the high performance of inorganic spint -up, whileñade the functionality of being adaptably flexible and usable as a tissue”, Says the study.
When high frequency X -rays affect the atoms of a spindle detector, excite the electrons of the material, raising them to a higher energy level. As electrons relax and return to their status as less energy, Reading this energy in the form of visible photons, which are captured by a photodetector, turned into an electrical signalamplified and analyzed to form an image.
The efficiency of any sparkling material is directly proportional to the atomic number of its constituent elements: the higher the atomic number, or number Z, the better the x -ray conversion into visible light. So far, to achieve flexibility, The spint -stops were manufactured with organic materials of low number Z or inorganic polymers. Both methods are less efficient than rigid spinters made of materials such as gadolinio oxisulfide with terbio (GD₂O₂S: TB) and Perovskitas (Catio₃).
To achieve this new flexible design, Xu’s team used a process known as Electrohilad Sol-Gelwhich uses an electric field to stretch a mixture of gel and crystalline, making it extraordinarily thin inorganic fibers.
This approach transformed the inorganic spint -up, which would otherwise be fragile, into a metatejido, called X-Wear, that can be weaved in various shapes and sizes. The fabric is also breathable and is perfectly integrated into wearable technology.
While the results showed their effectiveness, it has not yet been integrated into flexible photodetector. Other possible Limitations include the safety of the material for direct contact with the skin and its profitability for large -scale manufacturing.
However, to materialize, its possible applications include portable radiography for medical diagnosis, Mobile health platforms for moving radiographs, visual monitoring of radiation in dangerous environments and radiological protection integrated into comfortable garments.