Revolutionary CZT Detectors Enhance Medical Imaging and Scientific Research
Royal Brompton Hospital in London installed a CZT-based scanner in August 2025, significantly improving lung scan procedures by reducing scan times from 45 minutes to about 15 minutes and enabling a roughly 30% reduction in radiotracer doses.
The CZT detector, manufactured by Kromek, a leading global supplier, is hailed as enabling a revolution in medical imaging. This semiconductor detects X-ray and gamma photons in a single conversion step, preserving both timing and energy information, which allows for advanced spectroscopic imaging.
Manufacturing CZT is a complex and slow process. At Kromek's Sedgefield facility, about 170 furnaces are used to grow single crystals through a delicate, weeks-long atom-by-atom alignment process.
Beyond medical imaging, CZT detectors have diverse uses, including in X-ray telescopes, radiation detectors, and airport security scanners. They are increasingly employed in upgrades at the Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, a synchrotron facility undergoing a £500 million upgrade expected to complete in 2030. CZT-based detectors will help handle the much brighter X-ray output from the facility.
Demand for CZT detectors remains strong, and sourcing can be challenging. For instance, Prof. Henric Krawczynski at Washington University reports difficulties in obtaining the thin 0.8 mm CZT detectors he requires, and is considering cadmium telluride as an alternative.
A planned Antarctic mission involving Prof. Krawczynski was delayed due to the US government shutdown, and the dates remain uncertain.
