News:
Good news:
Now that pulsed, tunable monochromatic X-rays have become a reality, we have the opportunity to produce a machine that generates these X-rays at high flux in a configuration useful both for imaging in medicine and as a research instrument for biological, biomedical and materials science. Compact sources of pulsed, tunable, monochromatic X-rays having the proper beam geometry, low radiation dose, and high brightness to image human beings had not been available at any cost, until now.
As a consequence of this opportunity, the emphasis for the monochromatic X-ray program shifted. We will now concentrate our efforts on the applications research for these X-ray beams using a fully integrated and operational prototype Monochromatic X-ray Imaging (MXI) machine, transferring this new technology into the clinical arena. Additionally, we are mating the machine to the patient and to the clinical applications for which these unique beams were initially developed.
Vanderbilt in conjunction with the Office of Naval Research1
and MXISystems, Inc.2 has developed a laser synchrotron (Thomson
scattering) X-ray source for the energy region from 10 keV to 50 keV. In this
source, a high-power table-top-terawatt (T3) laser is focused onto a
counter-propagating electron beam from an RF LINAC. The laser produces
approximately 10 Joule pulses at a repetition rate of 0.01 Hz. It is capable of producing X-ray fluences sufficiently high that a single,
few-ps pulse produces a complete medical X-ray image.A schematic of the
machine, as built, is seen here.
The unit has been fabricated in such a way as to fit into a standard sized X-ray room. The alignment system at the interaction zone resembles that used on the MXI beamline of the Vandy FEL.
Due to reduction in shielding required, X-ray beam deflection off of mosaic crystals is not necessary, allowing delivery of hard X-rays in the 10-50 keV range at high flux (2.0 X 1010 photons/10ps pulse). These X-rays can be delivered into several adjacent patient examining rooms for use in mammography, plain films of extremities and spine, Chest X-rays, abdominal films, CT of all body parts, angiography, and myelography.
This is a photograph of the machine when first built. The long blue object in the background is the LINAC. The laser is spread out over the tables in the foreground. The large blue tank on the right has since been replaced by a small optical table holding the compressor.
To learn more see http://www.mxisystems.com
and Technical information
To see images made with this device see Images
1.- ONR Grant N0001499-1-0904
2.- MXISystems, Inc. 3401 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37203
Device was featured in RTImagevol015_no007.pdf
Bad news:
There is no bad news, today.
Sometimes, no news is good news!