Silveray will use the funding to help launch its first product next year, which is based on novel semiconductor technology.
According to the company, the first flexible digital X-ray detector will be aimed at industrial radiography applications, where it can be wrapped around pipes and fed into tight spaces to check for corrosion and weld defects. Digital images will be generated at the point of use, without the film being sent for chemical processing.
The technology also has the potential to transform medical imaging, such as in a flexible mammography detector that could be shaped around a breast without the need for uncomfortable compression. Similarly, radiotherapy patients undergoing Gamma Knife treatment could be fitted with a bespoke skull cap offering real-time monitoring of the treatment beam.
Silveray said its approach involves the use of nanoparticle-based X-ray conversion material, which is produced as a semiconductor ink and then deposited onto a pixel backplane. The electronics layer translates the signal from incoming X-rays into a digital image.
The ink layer can be tuned to increase or decrease the fraction of X-rays that interact with it and the electronics layer can be changed to output different pixel sizes, depending on the image quality required. The size and shape of the detector can also be customised for each application, including the option of having a permanently curved or flexible detector.
In a statement, Silveray CEO Dan Cathie said: “Our technology holds the promise of high-performance X-ray imaging at a sustainable cost point – in contrast to existing digital flat panel detectors, which are rigid and require a trade-off between cost, performance and efficiency. This seed funding will enable us to complete development of our first product ready for launch next year.”
As well as existing investors Northern Gritstone and ACF Investors, the investor consortium also included Empirical Ventures, Deeptech Labs and Hamamatsu Ventures.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “The progress made by the Silveray team since our initial investment in 2023 has been phenomenal. Dan Cathie and his team have the enviable combination of innovation and entrepreneurialism, having developed a novel digital X-ray solution with numerous applications which are set to disrupt the analogue X-ray market.”
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