Collaboration to develop AI-powered radiation sensor

Led by DTU Space, the i-RASE project is a collaboration between industrial and academic partners in Denmark, Germany, Norway and Italy to design, build and test a new class of radiation sensor based on cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and other advanced technologies.

The aim is to develop a radiation detector that uses the developments in AI to facilitate the retrieval of comprehensive information on incident radiation to improve measurement accuracy and speed, while increasing energy efficiency.

According to Sedgefield-headquartered Kromek, this offers transformational potential for various radiation applications, such as medical imaging, industrial inspection, scientific space instrumentation and environmental monitoring. The project will start on 1 March 2024 and will run for 48 months.

In a statement, Arnab Basu, CEO of Kromek, said: “With the increasing prevalence of AI, Kromek has for several years been exploring the application of machine learning across its technologies, and has generated some significant IP in this area.

“This collaboration brings an opportunity to enhance our expertise by working with field-leading partners throughout Europe, and ultimately lead to improved capabilities of our products across our market segments.”

The i-RASE project is part of the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and is designed to facilitate collaboration and strengthen the impact of research and innovation in developing, supporting and implementing EU policies while tackling global challenges.

Kromek is receiving £1.3m from UKRI, on behalf of the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, to participate in the project.

In a previous collaboration Kromek and DTU Space worked on developing a breast cancer imaging device based CZT detection technology. The 3D molecular breast imager (3D MBI) scanner was being designed for more precise and certain diagnosis of small breast cancer tumours.