In all domains of Medical and Scientific X-Ray imaging, replacement of legacy film and analog video processing by a fully digital workflow is underway. There are several drivers for this conversion, including increased operational efficiency and faster work flow (specimen throughput), adoption of digital information workflow and archiving infrastructure in laboratories and electronic sharing of results for peer reviews, the advanced digital image processing capabilities, and the lower X-ray dose and real-time availability that digital X-ray imaging solutions enable.
Digital X-ray imaging is used in biotechnology research to characterize the properties of new pharmaceuticals and treatments, often using small laboratory animals for imaging subjects. CT scanning of live organs that have been injected with a radioisotope reveals a 3D picture of the migration of a molecules of a specific size to regions where tumors have constricted blood flow. Teledyne DALSA’s digital X-ray cameras are used to detect the structure of the animal as well as the photons emitted from the radioisotope.
The rapid acceleration of pharmaceutical research has created a need for rapid study of molecular changes in protein crystals after certain drugs are applied. By collecting images of X-ray diffraction patterns from crystallized protein samples, researchers can determine the effectiveness of cancer fighting drugs as well as determine side effects. The large area, low noise CMOS detectors manufactured by Teledyne DALSA are used to collect diffraction images in 1/10th the amount of time as the conventional detection instruments at a fraction of the cost. Our detector configurations allow for high signal to noise performance for low energy radiation sources at 12kV and less.