X-ray phase contrast imaging is a medical revolution underway. This new technique of imaging applied to medicine allows to visualize the interior of the soft tissues, with minimal dose deposition, with contrast quality unattainable by conventional techniques of X-rays imaging. The sound socioeconomic study carried out during the XMED project pointed out that part of the future of medical imaging diagnostics lies in this major innovation, with considerable potential for early and individualized cancer diagnosis. Some prototypes of X-phase contrast imaging are already in industrialization process, confirming in passing the existence of a sizeable global market.
All phase contrast systems that the industry develops rely on traditional X-tube sources that are combined with grids to allow phase contrast imaging using special intermetric techniques. The larger the X-rays energy to cross more biological tissues, the smaller the pitch of the grids. Our socioeconomic study showed clearly, that there is no grid with small enough pitch to allow the phase imaging of the interior of a human body. Access to early detection of breast cancer, osteoarthritis and lung fibrosis, three massive public health problems that would benefit from phase imaging, is readily impossible, unless considering synchrotron radiation from giant and very expensive facilities.
The technology at the core of the XMED project is laser plasma accelerator (LPA). This revolutionary accelerator offers a coherent X-ray source of micrometric size, making it possible to directly implement, without any grid, phase contrast images of medical interest. Within the 18 months of the project, we have pushed forward the development of a compact and powerful installation at a labscale (a room of 50m²) that emulates synchrotron radiation in terms of coherence of the source, X-ray peak energy and flux. This unique platform enabled us to perform in collaboration with clinical partners preliminary high resolution imaging of mice samples and breast phantoms. Comparisons of LPA phase images and conventional scanner images are on-going, and series of supplementary tests are already programmed. At the end of this crucial step of experimental characterization, it is expected to obtain table of specifications to assess the maturity of our LPA technology and to start the technical design of an integrated prototype for early stage phase imaging.
By anticipation, during the course of the project, we carried out an important effort of broad communication. This successfully launched deep interest of our LPA approach among industrials and potential investors. Discussions are at the very onset. Based on the optimal go-to-market strategy we identified in our socioeconomic study, we will structure the on-going technical design to fit the requirements of well-established medical industrial willing to access the phase contrast imaging market.
