Tribogenics: A Smart-Phone Sized X-Ray Machine

What if you can have a X-rays machine in your pocket? Watch how this old but vital technology is about to be revolutionized. From Darpa-funded research at UCLA, California startup Tribogenics is using a novel method of producing X-rays to create Pocket XRF, a stronger and portable X-ray.

Conventional X-rays machines are bulky, fragile and expensive. They work by accelerating electrons through glass vacuum tubes and trapping them to an end material to produce X-rays. The firm derived its name from the natural process of triboluminescence: when materials like tape or sugar are pulled apart, positive and negative charges separate and reunite in a flash of light. 

Their findings were published in Nature. With only a piece of dental film, two rolls of tape, and a vacuum chamber, they were able to produce an X-ray image of a finger. With $8.7 million in funding, Tribogenics has developed a new “metal-polymer” that can be embedded on tiny devices. The Pocket XRF was built to identify recycling and precious metals, but further applications include medical diagnostics and therapy.
We also recommend watching: "GE's Optima MR430s: The End of Full-Body MRI" and "MIT: Seeing Through Concrete Walls".

Tribogenics: A Smart-Phone Sized X-Ray Machine

Tribogenics is a spin off company from Darpa-funded research at UCLA located at Marina del Rey, California. The firm is enabling portable, compact X-ray solutions for applications in industrial testing, medical diagnosis, security screening and other industries.