NOTICE OF GRANT AWARD

Issue Date: September 22, 2005

Program: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

Grantor: Department of Health and Human Services

            National Institutes of Health

            National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Grant Number: 1 R44 HL080909-01

Grantee: Grady Research, Inc.

             323 West Main Street

             Ayer, MA 01432

             United States

Principal Investigator: John K. Grady, BSEE, PE

Project Title: Fluoro Radiation Reduction by a Quantum Limited Detector

Summary:                  

The National Institutes of Health awarded an SBIR grant to Grady Research, Inc. of Ayer, MA in the amount of approximately $750,000.00 (estimated total of Phase 1 & Phase 2 funding). 

The goal of this project, which is entitled “Fluoro Radiation Reduction by a Quantum Limited Device”, is to produce a new x-ray detector technology that will significantly reduce x-ray imaging radiation dose by ensuring that every detected x-ray photon is used to form the diagnostic image.  The new system is expected to significantly outperform both image intensifier tubes and flat panel detectors in cath lab fluoro procedures, or any low dose fluoro application. 

This will enable a fluoro dose rate reduction of 50% or more for the same size pixels, or the improvement in low dose rate DQE can be used to significantly improve image quality at moderate input rates.  Reducing the x-ray flux rate by 50% with the same image quality would be an obvious benefit to any person undergoing an x-ray based diagnostic or interventional fluoro procedure.  With hundreds of thousands of these procedures performed each year, this promising new technology could have an extremely beneficial affect on x-ray imaging.