Detector Crystal Module
01
01

How Can We Reduce Crystal Size?

PET detectors with smaller crystals can improve the pixel accuracy of the system and the resolution of images. But how to reduce crystal size has been a bottleneck in electronics for decades and has hindered the development of the whole nuclear medicine industry.

For example, the medical crystal manufacturing supply chain is becoming more mature, and abruptly carrying out process transformation brings immeasurable cost risks. There are more than tens of thousands of crystals in a PET/CT scanner. The raw material rare-earth elements are more valuable than gold, while flickering crystals have a long growing period together with a high breakage rate. In addition, the crystal manufacturing process is complicated and directly affects the performance of PET scanner. A small change may affect the whole system. There is no precedent for how to solve this system design problem. Above all, the industry has largely failed to develop crystals that are smaller and more precise than the commonly used 4-6mm crystals.

02
Break Limitation
2.35mm x 2.35mm
Facing the tremendous challenges, United Imaging Healthcare, as an innovator, made breakthroughs by building an independent and controllable medical crystal production line to realize process transformation. It adopts the original Hyper electronics technology to facilitate the modular process, optimize circuit scale, and comprehensively improve system response. For the first time, the crystal size for clinical use was compressed to the limit of 2.35mm x 2.35mm, laying the foundation for the industry's highest resolution NEMA 2.9mm and ultra-high sensitivity.
01

Cut in a Precise Way

The high-precision equipment is densely arranged, comparable to hair-thin cutting lines, which are stably and slowly cut vertically against the crystal raw material. Transform crystals into finely sized units.
02

Customized Reflective Coating

With skilled craftsmanship, each crystal must be affixed with a customized reflective coating to reduce the loss of light energy.
03

Polishing

Use high-precision grinding equipment to smooth out flaws on the crystal surface and give its edges a precise arc. It dramatically improves system sensitivity and reduces image artifacts.
04

Each Crystal Can Be Traced with Unique Statue

Hundreds of neatly arranged light source lattices corresponding to each crystal are eligible to obtain a file number that symbolizes legal status. After that, no matter whether it is loaded into any machine and sent to any place globally, quality problems can be accurately traced.
05

A Lightning Shining Map

The crystal module and the photoreceptor are combined, arranged in sequence, and seamlessly spliced. The photons crashed into each crystal, activating hundreds of thousands of faint lightning bolts that burst into starlight at nanosecond intervals.
03
03

Innovation Is Our DNA

At United Imaging Healthcare, innovation is routine, which lies in every detail and interconnect one after another. After having revolutionizing electronics, a series of innovations on the core technology of PET-CT came out in a raw way: subverting the structure of traditional detectors, an integrated light guide design that greatly improves light collection efficiency, seamless splicing technology that realizes full photon capture, and greatly improved the reconstruction technology of image signal-to-noise ratio... The rollout of a series of achievements has laid a solid foundation for the our further development in molecular imaging domain.