The first “perovskite camera” in the world can see inside the human body

A new detector aims to reduce costs while improving the quality of nuclear medicine.

Doctors use nuclear medicine techniques such as SPONT scanners to observe how the heart pumps, follows blood flow patterns and identify diseases that are otherwise hidden at the bottom of the body. Current scanners are counting on both expensive and difficult to manufacture detectors.

Researchers from Northwest University And SOOOCHOW University in China has now developed the first detector based on perovskitis capable of capturing individual gamma rays with exceptional precision for SPECT IMAGUE. This innovation has the potential to make nuclear imaging methods widely used more precise, effective, affordable and safe.

For patients, the advantages could include shorter scanning sessions, clearer diagnostic images and lower exposure to radiation.

The study was recently published in the journal Nature communications.

“Perovskites are a family of crystals best known to transform the field of solar energy,” said Mercouri Kanatzidis of Northwestern, the main author of the study. “Now they are about to do the same for nuclear medicine. This is the first clear proof that perovskite detectors can produce the type of net and reliable images that doctors need to provide the best care for their patients. ”

“Our approach not only improves the performance of detectors, but could also reduce costs,” said the author of Co-Corresser, Yihui He, professor at the University of Soochow. “This means that more hospitals and clinics could possibly have access to the best imaging technologies.”

Kanatzidis is a chemistry teacher by Charles E. and Emma H. ​​Morrison at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences in Northwestern and a main scientist at the National Laboratory of Argonne. Yihui he is a former postdoctoral scholarship holder of the Kanatzidis laboratory.

Why current detectors fail

Nuclear medicine techniques such as SPECT (Tomography by Calculation of Photons) work as an invisible camera. A doctor presents a safe, safe and short -lived radirateur in a targeted area of ​​the patient’s body. This tracer releases gamma rays, which travel through the tissues and are then captured by a detector outside the body. Each gamma ray acts as a pixel of light, and when millions of these pixels are recorded, computers assemble them into a three -dimensional image of organ activity.

Current detectors are generally made from Zinc Cadmium (CZT) or sodium iodide (NAI), but the two options are available with drawbacks. CZT detectors are extremely expensive, often ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars per camera, and crystals are brittle, which makes them difficult to produce. NAI detectors are cheaper but more bulky, and they generate less precise images, similar in search of a fogged window.

To meet these challenges, the research team has turned to Pérovskite crystals, which Kanatzidis has been studying for over ten years. In 2012, his group created the first solid film solar cells using Pérovskites. In 2013, he showed that unique perovskite crystals could effectively detect X -rays and gamma rays. This advance, made it possible thanks to the ability of its team to develop high quality crystals, sparked a wave of international research and has helped establish a new area focused on radiation detection materials.

Record imaging performance

“This work shows how far we can push perovskite detectors beyond the laboratory,” said Kanatzidis. “When we discovered in 2013 for the first time that the only perovskitis crystals could detect X -rays and gamma rays, we could only imagine their potential. Now, we show that detectors based on perovskite can provide the resolution and sensitivity necessary to require applications such as nuclear medicine imaging. real.”

Building on this foundation, Kanatzidis and he led the growth of crystals, surface engineering and the design of devices for the new study. By increasing these crystals carefully, the researchers have created a pixelated sensor – just like the pixels of a smartphone camera – which offers record clarity and stability.

In the direction of the design and development of the gamma ray detector prototype, he developed the pixelian architecture of the camera, optimized the multi -channel reading electronics and carried out the high -resolution imaging experiences that validated the capacities of the device. Him, Kanatzidis, and their team have shown that detectors based on perovskite can achieve record energy resolutions and unprecedented photons imaging performance, paving the way for practical integration in new generation nuclear medicine imaging systems.

Real world impact and marketing

“Design this gamma camera and demonstrate its performance has been incredibly enriching,” he said. “By combining high -quality perovskite crystals with a carefully optimized pixelated detector system and a multi -channel reading system, we were able to obtain record capacity for energy resolution and imaging.

In the experiments, the detector has been able to differentiate itself between the gamma rays of different energies with the best resolution reported so far. He also felt extremely low signals of a medical radial (Technetium-99m) commonly used in clinical practice and incredibly fine characteristics, producing crunchy images that could separate from tiny radioactive sources spaced a few millimeters. The detector also remained very stable, collecting almost the entire signal of the tracer without loss or distortion. Because these new detectors are more sensitive, patients could potentially require shorter scanning times or smaller doses of radiation.

Northwestern Spinout Company Actia Inc. markets this technology – by working with partners in the field of medical devices to get it out of the laboratory and hospitals. Because they are easier to cultivate and use simpler components, the Perovskites offer a much less expensive alternative to CZT and NAI detectors without sacrificing quality. Perovskite -based detectors also offer a realistic route to imaging using a lower dose of a radiation that can be used with a NAI detector but at a price that guarantees generalized patient access.

“Demonstrating that Perovskites can provide unique gamma ray imaging is an important step,” he said. “It shows that these materials are ready to go beyond the laboratory and in technologies that directly benefit human health. From here, we see opportunities to further refine detectors, increase production and explore entirely new orientations in medical imaging. ”

“High quality nuclear medicine should not be limited to hospitals that can afford the most expensive equipment,” said Kanatzidis. “With the Perovskites, we can open the door to clearer, faster and safer analyzes for many more patients in the world. The ultimate goal is better scans, better diagnoses and better care for patients. ”

Reference: “Single photon Γ ray imaging with great energy and a semiconductor perovskite spatial resolution for nuclear medicine “by Nannan Shen, Xuchang He, Tingting Gao, Bao Xiao, Yuquan Wang, Ruohan Ren, Haoming Qin, Khasim Saheb Bayikadi, Zhifu Liu, Ja Peters, Bruce, Bruce, Bruce Shuquan Wei, Qiu Sun, Xueping Liu, Yifei Lai, Xiaoping Ouyang, Zhifang Chai, Mercouri G. Kanatzidis and Yihui He, August 30, 2025, Nature communications.
Two: 10.1038 / S41467-025-63400-7

Supported by the Defense Reduction Reduction Agency (HDTRA12020002), the consortium for the interaction of ionizing radiation with the University Research Alliance material, the National Key R&D Program of China (reward number 2021yff0502600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U2267211) and Jiangsu Science Science (BK202408222222222222).

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