Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Improving Mammography Technology


Carolyn MacDonald

Mammography is a reliable tool for reducing breast cancer mortality rates by providing early diagnosis. However, conventional imaging techniques can miss carcinomas and produce false positives. Some advanced research techniques produce higher quality images, but typically require synchrotron sources, which are large, expensive, and not available for clinical use.

Carolyn MacDonald, professor and chair of the Depart- ment of Physics and director of UAlbany's Center for X-ray Optics, devotes much of her research to the development of X-ray technology and has patented inventions which address both commercial and medical X-ray imaging.

Her Wide-Field, Coherent Scatter Imaging for improved mammography, patented in 2010, would allow radiologists to discriminate carcinoma from healthy tissue. This could result in fewer breast biopsies, unnecessary patient trauma and lower healthcare costs for patients and providers, and fewer missed cancers in patients with dense breasts.

MacDonald's 3-D Focusing X-Ray Imaging System, patented in 2009 in collaboration with XOS, Inc., uses clinical sources combined with an advanced optics system to yield the higher contrast available from single energy X-ray beams, previously possible only with synchrotrons. Her new system works to remedy concerns in diagnostic medicine concerning radiation dose, image contrast and resolution, and cost.

Patents Issued

Patent Number	Issue Date	UAlbany Inventors and Title
7,776,794	8/17/10	Szaro, Ben; Castracane, James; Feng, Xiaojun — Novel biosensor using living cells on silicon-based microarrays
7,745,600	6/29/10	Wang, Sho-Ya — Screen for sodium channel modulators
7,646,850	1/12/10	MacDonald, Carolyn — Wide field coherent scatter imaging for radiography using a divergent beam
7,618,836	11/17/09	Tokranova, Natalya; et al. — Hybrid solar cells based on nanostructures bulk semiconductors and organic materials
7,601,823	10/13/09	Niu, Li; et al. — Nucleic acid inhibitors of glutamate receptors (with Cornell U.)
7,583,789	9/1/09	MacDonald, Carolyn; et al. (UAlbany and X-Ray Optical Systems) — X-ray imaging systems employing point-focusing, curved monochromating optics (with X-Ray Optical Systems)
7,527,997	5/5/09	Xu, Bai; et al. — MEMS structure with anodically bonded silicon-on-insulator substrate
7,521,252	4/21/09	Carpenter, Michael; Zhao, Zhouying — Methods of forming palladium alloy thin films and optical hydrogen sensors employing palladium alloy thin films
7,508,858	3/24/09	Oktyabrsky, Serge et al. (UAlbany & Intel) — Detuned duo-cavity laser-modulator device and method with detuning selected to minimize change in reflectivity
7,405,086	7/29/08	LaBella, Vincent et al. — Above room temperature ferromagnetic silicon