The result will be a full-body, lightweight and mobile CT scanner, designed by Micro-X to provide advanced out-of-hospital services.
Australian x-ray and CT imaging tech company Micro-X has been awarded a $25 million development contract to develop a world-first full-body, lightweight and mobile CT scanner.
The US Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health awarded the US$16.4 million deal via its Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed and Integrated Medical Care (PARADIGM) program.
PARADIGM aims to address the current challenges in accessing rural health by creating a scalable vehicle-based platform that provides advanced medical services out of hospital. Micro-X is one of 12 teams selected from a global invitation for proposals.
ARPA-H will fund the development of the medical device over five years, subject to ARPA-H option, through to Food and Drug Administration premarket submission.
Using its Nano Electronic X-ray (NEX) Technology x-ray tubes, Micro-X aims to deliver a full-body CT scanner weighing just 225kg, compared to conventional CTs that weigh more than 2 tonnes.
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This technology has previously been advanced through Micro-X development contracts awarded by the US Department of Homeland Security and Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
“Micro-X continues to go beyond boundaries to challenge the constraints of legacy x-ray and deliver solutions that meet the needs of customers, users and patients,” said Micro-X CEO Kingsley Hall.
Conventional CT holds the largest share (approximately 30%) of the global medical imaging market and is the current medical imaging standard for a wide range of diagnoses including cardiac imaging, trauma diagnosis, cancer screening, and lung screening.
Micro-X’s US CEO and CSO Brian Gonzales said:
“ARPA-H’s vision for the PARADIGM program is closely aligned with Micro-X’s vision to create revolutionary x-ray imaging to better lives.
“We are extending hospital grade imaging beyond the boundaries of conventional hospitals to bring a vehicle mounted full-body CT solution to rural communities.”