Siemens, Philips, and Thomson join forces to form digital detector

Siemens, Philips, and Thomson join forces to form digital detector de
Published on Diagnostic Imaging (http://www.diagnosticimaging.com)
Siemens, Philips, and Thomson join forces to form digital
detector developer Trixell
March 19, 1997 | Vendors [1]
New company debuts at ECR meeting, plans 1998 shipmentsDespite x-ray's unenviable status as
the least glamorous imagingmodality, the technology still produces some 70% of the data usedin
radiology. Because those data must be digitized for
New company debuts at ECR meeting, plans 1998 shipments
Despite x-ray's unenviable status as the least glamorous imaging modality, the technology still
produces some 70% of the data used in radiology. Because those data must be digitized for
radiology to truly move into the digital era, a host of competitors have gone public over the past two
years with their plans for developing direct x-ray digitization systems.
At this month's European Congress of Radiology meeting in Vienna, yet another rival emerged, one
with a distinguished lineage that may give it an inside track on its digital x-ray competitors. The new
firm, Trixell SAS, is a joint venture between Siemens Medical Engineering Group, Philips Medical
Systems, and Thomson Tubes Electroniques, the French developer of image intensifier tubes.
Trixell was incorporated on Feb. 26, after Siemens, Philips, and Thomson received an antitrust waiver
from the European Union to form the new company. Thomson owns a 51% stake in Trixell, with
Siemens and Philips each holding 24.5%. The new firm will be based in Moirans, France, near
Thomson's manufacturing facility in Grenoble. Trixell's work force consists of 45 people, and will
grow to 100 over the next three years.
Trixell's mission is to develop a flat-panel digital detector that can be used in place of image
intensifiers and x-ray film cassettes, according to Gerard Daguise, the Thomson veteran who is
president of Trixell. Another Thomson executive, Jean Chabbal, has been appointed Trixell's
managing director.
Trixell's technology represents a confluence of work done by its constituent companies, all of whom
began working independently on digital detectors years ago. In 1986, Thomson started investigating
the basic technology of using active matrix amorphous silicon for digital imaging. Siemens did
similar work in the 1980s, but joined Thomson in 1991, taking over development of clinical
applications of the technology. Meanwhile, Philips had been working independently on solid-state
detectors with other firms, concentrating on digital fluorographic imaging. When it joined the
Siemens and Thomson effort in 1995, Philips added its expertise in this area.
Why the decision to join forces? While the firms realized the huge potential market for digital x-ray
technology, they also realized that the R&D costs involved could sap much of the project's return on
investment, according to Jan Kees van Soest, director of industrial policy and technology at Philips.
"We (Philips) recognized that the whole effort to productize this technology would require a
considerable amount of time and investment, as it would also for Siemens and for Thomson," van
Soest said. "That led us to the decision to proceed with this engineering and application phase with
the three of us."
OEM emphasis. Trixell's flat-panel detector uses a scintillator layer of cesium iodide, which converts
x-rays into visible light. The layer is coupled to amorphous silicon photodiodes, for conversion of the
light into digital data. The data are processed by the panel's readout electronics and are output as
DICOM-compatible data that can then be sent to a workstation or into a PACS network. The first
generation of the detector is for the digitization of static x-ray studies, although future versions of
the detector will support dynamic studies such as fluoroscopy or angiography, Chabbal said.
The detector has a resolution of 3.5 line pairs per mm, which is comparable to x-ray film. It has a
pixel size of 143 microns, while its quantum efficiency (QE) is 65 QE at 70 kV. When completed, the
detectors should have more contrast resolution than film, according to Joachim Alexander, senior
director and project manager in Siemens' angiography, radiography/fluoroscopy, and radiographic
systems group. These specifications should also result in lower x-ray doses for patients.
Trixell hopes to place the first beta versions of its detectors at clinical sites this year, with completed
detectors ready to ship to imaging vendors by the middle of 1998. Trixell will supply the detectors
not just to Siemens and Philips but to all medical imaging OEMs, which will incorporate them into
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Siemens, Philips, and Thomson join forces to form digital detector de
Published on Diagnostic Imaging (http://www.diagnosticimaging.com)
their own x-ray systems. The OEMs will be responsible for final system integration and for receiving
regulatory approval for the finished products.
Despite the common origin of the detectors, Trixell officials do not believe that x-ray systems using
the devices will be identical. Each company will add its own technology to produce systems that are
unique, according to Daguise.
"This collaboration is at the level of a key component of an x-ray system," Daguise said. "There is
enough room around the components for Philips, Siemens, and other OEMs to offer different types of
equipment with different performance levels."
Trixell's development time line coincides with that of Sterling Diagnostic Imaging of Glasgow, DE,
which is developing a flat-panel detector based on selenium that it intends to commercialize in 1998.
Another entrant in the digital detector race, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center spin-off dpiX, has
begun supplying evaluation kits of its FlashScan 20 sensors to OEMs, which will help vendors develop
completed systems.
Besides dpiX and Sterling, Japanese imaging vendor Canon displayed a flat-panel amorphous silicon
detector at the ECR meeting (see story, page 2). Trex Medical of Danbury, CT, and Optical Imaging
Systems of Northville, MI, are also developing flat-panel sensors. In addition, x-ray digitization
systems based on charge-coupled device (CCD) technology are being developed by firms like
Swissray of Hitzkirch, Switzerland; Oldelft of Delft, the Netherlands; Imix of Tampere, Finland; and
Konica of Tokyo.
Disclosures:
Source URL:
http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/articles/siemens-philips-and-thomson-join-forces-form-digital-dete
ctor-developer-trixell
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