The difference from previous computer tomography technology to photon-counting CT is about the
same as going from regular TV to HD, and from black and white to color but all in one step.
But photon-counting CTs can be built only if you have the appropriate detector material.
What you see here is actually only a single piece of the puzzle but it is the critical
piece of the puzzle. We knew how to build everything the complete photon-counting CT.
We even knew exactly how the sensor material had to be and what it was made of. Only unfortunately
such material was not available anywhere in the world. After several years of searching
we identified our current partner Acrorad as the company that had the highest technological
level in this field and with whom the chances of success were the highest.
In many years of work we have jointly succeeded in making the material meet the high demands of
CT imaging. We have assembled an international team from various fields of crystal growing
but even these experts had to start from scratch. The complexity of the manufacturing process can
be easily measured by the number of process steps and by their duration.
The big challenge is the absolute purity, the crystal perfection, and thus the electrical
properties of the crystal. This means that all the rooms here in the new building
have to be at clean room level. However, many of the substances here are toxic. So we had to
partially reverse the principle of the clean room and suck the air out instead of blowing it in.
This necessary purity goes so far that even the material of the hammer used to crush the
raw materials must be specially selected and that not even the smallest particle of contamination
enters the process. Many work pieces that come into contact with the processed materials
cannot be simply delivered. For example, we have to coat and clean our process ampoules ourselves.
Thus, every step becomes a challenge and the simplest moves have to be practiced precisely
and become an art of craftsmanship. Much of the work here is manual such as sealing the ampoules.
One goal here is to automate some of these work steps, increase capacity, and quality.
So we are here at the production research and development facility all in one.
Sawing does not simply mean sawing but sawing along a certain crystallographic orientation.
Cutting, grinding, filling all with equipment that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
Nevertheless only 12 percent of the process is over now.
Most of this is preparation until actual crystal growth can begin. This lasts about 10 weeks. The
slightest mistake or a tiny contamination and the procedure would have to start all over again.
If you think three months for the whole process is long I find that insanely fast. In nature
crystals take three million years to grow. I often get this question: is this expense justified?
I have seen what the new photon-counting CTs are capable of. Believe me it's worth every effort
with this we advance the future of computed tomography shaping the future of healthcare.