IBEX Innovations Limited (IBEX) is commercialising a patented X-ray detector technology that recovers high sensitivity spectral information from standard, indirect silicon X-ray imaging detectors. This information is then used to classify both materials and thickness in an X-ray image delivering improved detection of impurities, defects and threats. The IBEX technology can also be used to identify and remove scatter in images, leading to significant improvements in contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of 8-10x at significantly reduced X-ray dose of at least 2x.
Since incorporation in 2011, IBEX has secured €4.2m (£3m) of venture capital funding and €1.06m (£750k) of grant funding to develop the core technology and build a team of 13 highly skilled engineers, scientists and business professionals. The business has moved rapidly from the research phase to commercialisation and has secured licence deals for its technology in electronics inspection and security inspection markets, with additional commercial deals expected in the food inspection market in the next calendar year. The technology can therefore clearly be identified as at TRL 7-8 in non-medical applications.
X-ray imaging is a valuable medical diagnostic technique, accounting for 47% of the medical imaging market in 2011 and expected to be worth €15bn globally by 2017. Within this, the medical X-ray detector market was valued at €1.24bn in 2014, dominated by €0.77bn of sales of flat panel detectors (FPDs) using silicon megapixel TFT or CMOS sensors. The market for large area medical FPDs is growing strongly, with a forecast CAGR of 6.3% between 2014 and 2019. There has been a significant growth in the use of medical radiography in recent years, and medical radiation exposure of the US population now accounts for close to 50% of the annual per capita total, having increased by 600% since 1980. Medical radiography is not without risk, and 1 in 1,000 patients who have a full body CT scan will go on to develop a fatal secondary cancer. c. 28,000 of the 1.4m cancers diagnosed every year in the USA are directly attributable to CT scans.
Over the past two years, IBEX has engaged with leading clinicians and medical physicists to investigate applications the medical imaging market, and has demonstrated the potential of the IBEX technology to address clinical needs in a number of application areas. The IBEX technology is now at TRL6-7 for selected medical applications. We have used a H2020 Dedicated SME Instrument (“DSI”) Phase 1 grant to investigate commercial opportunities and the route to market for the IBEX technology in medical imaging applications further.
The objective of the DSI Phase 1 project was to carry out a feasibility study for the use of IBEX technology in medical applications and to develop a detailed business plan for its commercialisation. Our feasibility study objectives were:
1. To determine the regulatory requirements and costs to get approval in the medical sector
2. To analyse target applications (e.g. Mammography, Angiography, Digital Radiography, DEXA, CT) and quantify relative benefits of IBEX technology vs existing/evolving technologies
3. To determine the route (licence, detector sale, JV etc.), time to market and barriers to entry by application
4. To plan messaging and assess burden of proof needed. How do we pitch our capability and what level of experimental proof do we need? How should we present this to OEMs / detector manufacturers / market at large?
5. To understand market dynamics - segmentation, technology trends, key players
6. Make initial contact with market, and identification of appropriate development partners and stakeholders
7. To Draft a detailed business plan with financial projections to be used over a 5-year period
