Apparatus and method of generating X-rays, in particular for X-ray fluorescence imaging

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This invention presents an advanced X-ray source apparatus utilizing a laser-plasma accelerator and a Thomason scattering configuration. It features a specially designed gas channel within the laser-plasma accelerator that maintains a negative pressure gradient, resulting in the production of highly collimated (low divergence) electron beams. These electron beams, when subjected to Thomson scattering with another laser pulse, generate X-rays with reduced divergence and a narrow spectral width. The resulting X-ray beam is suitable for sensitive, high-resolution X-ray fluorescence imaging (XRF), particularly for biomedical uses such as imaging gold nanoparticles in biological tissue, with lower radiation dose and improved image quality.

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• High-resolution X-ray fluorescence imaging (XRF) for medical diagnostics, such as detecting and imaging gold nanoparticle-labeled tumors in vivo (e.g., in human or animal tissues).
• In vivo molecular imaging and functional imaging in biomedical research and clinics, enabling visualization of specific biomarkers at low concentrations.
• Material science research, including compositional mapping and trace element analysis in samples using XRF.
• Industrial or security applications requiring portable, compact, high-brightness, and highly collimated X-ray sources for non-destructive testing or inspection.
• X-ray absorption imaging with improved resolution and lower dose for applications in both medical and material analysis.

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• Significantly reduced X-ray beam divergence, allowing for higher resolution imaging and more precise localization of features within the sample or patient.
• Compact apparatus design compared to traditional synchrotron or undulator-based systems, making it suitable for clinical or laboratory use.
• Lower radiation dose to the imaged object or patient due to the narrow spectral width and efficient excitation, reducing side effects, especially vital in medical applications.
• Increased sensitivity for detecting low concentrations of contrast agents (e.g., gold nanoparticles), enabling molecular or functional imaging.
• Adjustable photon energies (up to 400 keV), suitable for exciting a wide range of elements and reducing background noise from scattering, enhancing the signal-to-background ratio.

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Patent Abstract

An X-ray source apparatus (100) for generating an X-ray beam (1), comprises a laser-plasma accelerator (10), which includes a gas channel (12) with an acceleration section for flowing a working gas along a flow direction, wherein the laser-plasma accelerator (10) is configured for irradiating a first pulsed laser beam (2) into the working gas, so that a plasma can be created in the working gas and an accelerated electron beam (4) can be generated, and a Thomson scattering part (20), which is configured such that the X-ray beam (1) can be generated by Thomson scattering of the electron beam (4) with a second pulsed laser beam (5), wherein the gas channel (12) includes a beam forming section for creating a pressure gradient so that the working gas flowing along the flow direction is subjected to a gas density reduction, wherein the pressure gradient is formed such that the transverse emittance of the electron beam (4) is preserved and, due to an adiabatic variation of transverse focusing forces in the plasma channel, the divergence of the electron beam (4) is reduced in the beam forming section relative to the acceleration section. Furthermore, an X-ray fluorescence imaging device including the X-ray source apparatus (100) and method for generating an X-ray beam (1) and for X-ray fluorescence imaging are described.