Mammograms can be painful, but they may not need to be
Undergoing an X-ray can be uncomfortable, often requiring one to remain still in pain or to have part of the body compressed. However, a new flexible fabric that enhances X-ray detection could change this.
“Imagine scanning a child’s injury without needing to immobilize them, or creating pain-free breast examinations,” says Li Xu from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She and her team developed a material called X-Wear that scintillates, meaning it emits light when exposed to X-rays, making this possibility a reality.
Since X-rays are harder to detect than visible light, medical and industrial X-rays, along with CT scans, employ scintillating components. These components can absorb X-rays, converting them into visible light to create images revealing internal details such as fractures. The prevailing scintillators, however, tend to be rigid, leading to bulkier and more uncomfortable devices.
To tackle this, researchers re-shaped scintillating materials like gadolinium oxide embedded with europium into thin fibers, which were then woven into fabric.
Xu mentions that making these fibers flexible while ensuring they emitted sufficient light for high-resolution imaging posed a significant technical challenge. Her team has demonstrated the fabric’s efficacy in taking dental X-rays, successfully shaping X-Wear to fit a clay model of teeth and a mouth. They also tested it in mammography, creating a specialized X-Wear bra that eliminates the need for breast compression during imaging, which is standard practice today.
Imalka Jayawardena from the University of Surrey, UK, notes that X-Wear’s ability to conform to the body is a major benefit compared to other flexible scintillator designs, which are typically film-like and flexible but lack the ability to wrap around objects. However, he highlights that the light detectors used with X-Wear remain flat, limiting the fabric’s current applications.
The researchers can produce samples of X-Wear up to about a quarter of a square meter. For widespread application, they will need to scale production to larger sizes and adapt it for industrial-grade equipment, according to Xu.
The team is also exploring industrial uses for X-Wear, such as small, flexible devices for inspecting electronics or pipelines for defects. Xu states that first responders in disaster situations might also utilize X-Wear in combination with a smartphone and compact X-ray source for on-site scans.
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