This study sought to mitigate risk in transitioning newly developed glass-ceramic scintillator technology from a laboratory concept to commercial product by identifying the most significant hurdles to increased scale. These included selection of cost effective raw material sources, investigation of process parameters with the most significant impact on performance, and synthesis steps that could see the greatest benefit from participation of an industry partner that specializes in glass or optical component manufacturing. Efforts focused on enhancing the performance of glass-ceramic nanocomposite scintillators developed specifically for medical imaging via composition and process modifications that ensured efficient capture of incident X-ray energy and emission of scintillation light. The use of cost effective raw materials and existing manufacturing methods demonstrated proof-of-concept for economical viable alternatives to existing benchmark materials, as well as possible disruptive applications afforded by novel geometries and comparatively lower cost per volume. The authors now seek the expertise of industry to effectively navigate the transition from laboratory demonstrations to pilot scale production and testing to evince the industry of the viability and usefulness of composite-based scintillators.

Date Published: 3 October 2016
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 9969, Radiation Detectors: Systems and Applications XVII, 99690B (3 October 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2249178

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9969:
Radiation Detectors: Systems and Applications XVII
Gary P. Grim; H. Bradford Barber; Lars R. Furenlid, Editor(s)