Project hopes to make “full-body CT imaging truly mobile for the first time”

Monash University is leading design of a new mobile CT scanner, which will use miniaturised x-ray emitters made by Micro-X, for use in rural communities in the United States.

Micro-X, Monash University, and Johns Hopkins University in the US were awarded a contract worth $US 16.4 million (approximately $25 million at the time) in February for lightweight CT scanners (weighing 225 kilograms) that can be fitted into mobile vehicles (depicted above.) 

The funding is through the US’s Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) as part of their Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed and InteGrated Medical care (PARADIGM) program, launched last year. 

The team is one of 12 international teams selected after a global invitation for proposals through the program, and their project is aimed at “mobile care and capable of expanding imaging access to underserved communities and radiology deserts.”  

Monash’s Design Health Collab will design the portable scanners, which will weigh nearly a tenth of conventional CT machines. The weight saving is possible through Micro-X’s Nano Electronic X-ray (NEX) Technology, which uses miniaturised x-ray emitters to deliver high-quality, three-dimensional imaging comparable to hospital-based systems.

Project lead Dr Nyein Chan Aung said in a statement on Monday that it would make “full-body CT imaging truly mobile for the first time” for a product that has resisted “a wave of miniaturisation, from portable ultrasound to wearable health monitors” within healthcare.

Micro-X CEO Kingsley Hall added that his company “continues to push boundaries, challenging the constraints of legacy X-ray technology to deliver new and innovative solutions that meet the needs of customers, users and patients.”

Micro-X was established in 2011, listed on the ASX in 2015, and launched its first mobile X-ray product in 2017. It opened its US office in Seattle in 2021.

The project earned it a Top 10 Gold Award in May through @AuManufacturing’s Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers campaign.

Further reading

Micro-X’s first 3D images from micro Head CT scanner

Micro-X reveals $25m US contract to develop portable CT

Adelaide tech company achieves $2.3 million in development milestones

Micro-X shares jump on US contract notification

Micro-X miniature CT scanner to enter clinical trials