London, UK, 2025-09-20

Scientists have developed the world’s first “perovskite camera,” a revolutionary device that can capture individual gamma rays to produce sharper, faster, and safer images of the human body. The new technology, developed by a team at Northwestern University and Soochow University in China, could transform nuclear medicine imaging, such as SPECT scans, which are used to diagnose conditions like heart disease and cancer. The camera, built from crystals known as perovskites, offers a significant improvement over traditional detectors, providing doctors with more precise and reliable images for diagnosis.

How the Perovskite Camera Works

The new camera is a sophisticated gamma-ray detector that operates similarly to a regular digital camera, but instead of capturing visible light, it captures gamma rays.

 * Gamma-Ray Detection: The camera is a pixelated sensor made of carefully shaped perovskite crystals. These crystals have a unique property that allows them to capture and convert a single gamma ray into a measurable electrical signal.

 * Creating Images: In medical imaging, patients are injected with a radiotracer, a substance that emits gamma rays as it travels through the body. The perovskite camera’s pixels then detect these rays, with each one acting as a single point of light. A computer then assembles these millions of points into a clear, three-dimensional image of organ activity.

 * Improved Clarity and Safety: The new detector achieved a record-breaking energy resolution and single-photon imaging performance. It was able to distinguish incredibly fine features and produce crisp images that could separate tiny radioactive sources just a few millimeters apart. This precision could allow doctors to use lower doses of radiotracers, making scans safer for patients.

A Cheaper and More Accessible Technology

Perovskite cameras could make nuclear medicine more widely available. Unlike traditional detectors, which are often expensive and difficult to manufacture, perovskites are a family of crystals that are easier and cheaper to produce.

 * Cost-Effective Manufacturing: Perovskites can be grown with relative ease from solution, making them a strong competitor to conventional materials like Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) and Sodium Iodide (NaI) detectors. This could lower the cost of high-quality imaging, making it more accessible for hospitals and clinics around the world.

 * Beyond Medicine: The development of perovskite detectors also has potential applications beyond medical imaging, including in security, environmental monitoring, and materials analysis.