New CT sensor modules from ams OSRAM advance the medical imaging technology across the CT market segments.

With two new sensor modules, ams OSRAM (SIX: AMS), a global leader in intelligent sensors and emitters, demonstrates its commitment to Computed Tomography (CT). At the heart of this state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging technology are CT sensor modules that support a broad range of clinical applications: from oncology to the treatment of cardiovascular conditions, ensuring precise patient outcomes and enabling early diagnosis. The new products further advance the medical imaging technology across the CT market segments. For the premium CT segment, ams OSRAM introduces a new System-in-Package sensor module designed for photon counting detectors, delivering a substantial reduction in the radiation dose and additional diagnostic value. For the price-sensitive CT segment, ams OSRAM also presents a new sensor module, ensuring high-quality medical imaging at a competitive price.

“ams OSRAM is making both cutting-edge and cost-efficient sensor modules broadly available for high-resolution, information-rich, and low-dose CT scans. Our powerful but affordable sensor module enhances the accessibility of modern CT technology while delivering significant performance improvements. With its new photon counting detector, our company is playing a key role in driving the next revolution in medical imaging, elevating medical treatments to a new level,” emphasizes Ivo Ivanovski, Head of Product Line Medical Imaging & Foundry.

For the premium CT segment, ams OSRAM introduces AS5920M, a new 4-side Buttable System-In-Package (BSIP) sensor module designed for photon counting detectors.

AS5920M – The first disruptive package solution for photon counting detectors
Computed Tomography (CT) is a medical imaging method that uses X-ray to create 3D images of the whole body or parts of it, enabling doctors to diagnose health conditions and monitor treatment progress. With its working principle based on ionizing radiation, reducing dose levels to as low as reasonably achievable for a given diagnostic task is a societal challenge with respect to providing broad access to modern healthcare, such as for pediatric and screening applications.

With this challenge in mind, ams OSRAM introduces the AS5920M photon counting detector. In contrast to conventional X-ray detectors, which measure the intensity of the radiation indirectly, photon counting sensors are even able to detect individual X-ray photons. This intrinsic detection principle allows the radiation dose of a CT scan to be drastically reduced without trading off image quality or resolution. This significantly extends the application range of CT scanners for regulatory-approved, advanced diagnostic tasks and patient screening applications.

Additionally, the new AS5920M provides ultra-high resolution. The detector pixel size of the module is nine times smaller than in conventional CT. In combination with excellent material differentiation, low noise and excellent contrast, the AS5920M enables an extremely accurate diagnosis even in the very early stages of health conditions, improving patient outcomes.

With this future-oriented sensor module, ams OSRAM offers CT system developers a complete solution in an innovative System-in-Package and removes various levels of complexity in system integration. Multiple ICs and passive components are integrated into a single package — and the fact that no external components are required has a positive impact on the bill of materials. The 4-side Buttable System-In-Package (BSIP) module allows several devices to be placed adjacent to each other in any direction to create a large detector area, as required in clinical CT applications. 

AS5952M – Affordable, high-performance sensor module for 64-slice CT imaging
Affordable yet powerful sensor modules are needed to provide broad access to CT healthcare. The AS5952M
module was developed to meet this increasing demand in the medical imaging industry. The AS5952M module consists of three AS5952 sensor chips, the latest of their kind with a 3-side buttable design to reduce both manufacturing complexity and costs. The required stitching technology developed in-house by ams OSRAM in its own wafer fab ensures the high quality of elongated sensor chips. Combining dark current improvement, noise minimization and a reduction in power consumption, the AS5952M is the ideal solution for 64-slice CT systems with 4 cm coverage. This wide sensor coverage is critical to achieving high acquisition speeds and reducing motion artefacts in the “workhorse” CT market segment.

The Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) AS5952 integrates a 256-channel Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) and the photodiode array in a single monolithic package. This integration offers major cost advantages and superior noise performance due to reduced distances between the photodiode and ADC, which makes the AS5952M a performance/cost-optimized product for price-sensitive CT segments. 

(Photo credit: ams OSRAM)