Objectives of the service
Today, 3D Computerized Tomography (CT) scanners give better results than 2D X-rays but they are often too expensive and give too high a radiation dose to be used on many patients when they first present with common conditions such as suspected fractures, or arthritis. This presents the risk of misdiagnosis leading to delayed healing of fractures, potential litigation for missed fractures, and delayed diagnosis of diseases. Adaptix’s vision is to transform radiology by fundamentally changing X-ray imaging.
Digital tomosynthesis offers a completely different way imaging from the traditional 2D X-ray by firing X-rays in a sequence from many different positions from a low-cost, low-dose, compact device. This provides:
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more informative 3D imaging when patients first arrive in hospital thereby saving time and cost and
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the opportunity for bringing low-cost, low-dose 3D imaging to patients in more locations such as in primary care, remote regions or mobile settings.
Users and their needs
Medical imaging is needed throughout the world. The technology developed through the TransDIm project can bring the following benefits:
Hospital outpatient radiology departments:
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More sensitive detection of fractures
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Better assessment of healing
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Low-dose regular monitoring of conditions such as arthritis and osteoporosis
Podiatrists and orthopaedic surgeons
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Ability to handle more cases on site without needing to send the patient elsewhere for a CT scan
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Ability to perform weight-bearing imaging of the foot in the position that causes pain
Primary care & General Practice
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A low cost device that is simple to install giving the option to diagnose cases in community settings avoiding the cost of sending so many patients to hospital. This can be combined with remote reading of the images.
Developing countries and remote settings
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Bring mobile 3D imaging in a vehicle to places that have no access to expensive scanners
Veterinarians
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3D imaging is helpful with animals as well as humans, but most veterinary practices only have 2D X-ray as CT is too expensive for their customers. This is a separate market to human imaging but with similar needs and also allowed an earlier demonstration of the technology.
Service/ system concept
In the same way that having two eyes provides depth perception, firing X-rays from multiple positions allows the 3D structure of subjects to be derived, enabling this information to be displayed to the user as a stack of slices. This gives much more information than a simple 2D X-ray with overlapping bones collapsed into a single shadow.
Space Added Value
Adaptix’s journey started with miniature electron emitters using technology that was simultaneously being developed for a number of Space missions. These ‘field emitters’ can be much smaller than the traditional ‘thermionic emitters’ used in large conventional X-ray tubes. Field emitters like these can be for ionising gases for analysis e.g. the Ptolemy device on the Philae lander of ESA's Rosetta mission, which rendezvoused with a comet in 2014. The severe constraints on the size, mass and power available for Ptolemy required the miniaturisation of every component.
The latest Adaptix system builds on the concept of having a low-power X-ray sources with a square array of emission positions brought closer to the detector in order to have a lightweight, compact system. It fires X-rays from 25 positions in a rapid sequence lasting around 15 s giving a quick, low-cost, 3D image which provides a significantly higher level of detail than is possible with a 2D image.
Current Status
The first project phase completed its final review in March 2023 and has now been extended.
During this the project, Adaptix brought its first two products to market.
The first is a mobile 3D system for veterinary imaging. This compact device runs off a normal mains socket so is easy to install and use in an existing radiology room. In contrast, a CT scanner requires 3 phase power, air conditioning and special shielding. The systems have been used for imaging the teeth, heads and limbs of cats, dogs and rabbits, and also some more exotic species such as bearded dragons. Adaptix now have many commercial installations around the UK and made the first sale in the USA in 2024.
The second product is for low-cost, low-dose, mobile, orthopaedic, 3D imaging in humans. The regulatory pathway for human imaging is longer than for veterinary imaging. However, Adaptix received a 510(k) clearance by the US Food & Drug Administration in January 2023 for a first, smaller orthopaedic imaging system for imaging hands, elbows and feet. The development of a larger system that can also image knees and shoulders has now completed its Final Review following the start of live human imaging in clinical studies in October 2025. This received US FDA 510(k) clearance in November 2025 and CE Mark certification in May 2026.
Thise second phase of the project as successfully closed in May 2026. Another extension of the contract has been started in order to assess the socio-economical impacts of deploying this solution in areas where geography or missing medical expertise can hamper access to care for people.
Prime Contractor(s)
