NIST GCR 03-844
Low-Cost Manufacturing Process Technology for Amorphous Silicon Detector Panels: Applications in Digital Mammography and Radiography

1. Introduction

The Advanced Technology Program (ATP), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), fosters partnerships among government, industry, and academia by co-funding innovative, high-risk research to develop enabling technologies that promise broad economic benefits for the nation.

In 1995, ATP co-funded a joint-venture project with General Electric Global Research (formerly General Electric Corporate Research & Development) and PerkinElmer, Inc. (formerly EG&G Reticon) to develop an innovative low-cost manufacturing (LCM) process for thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si) detectors with primary applications in medical imaging, as well as potential future applications in industrial machine vision and nondestructive testing. If successful, the LCM process would enhance the affordability of digital imaging for screening mammography and chest radiography and deliver the medical and productivity benefits of digital technologies to patient populations and healthcare facilities that would not have otherwise enjoyed these benefits.

The ATP conducts economic analyses to assess the short- and long-term benefits of ATP-funded projects to the nation. It evaluates impacts on project participants, their customers, patient populations, and other recipients of technologies developed with ATP assistance.

CASE STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE

The objectives of this case study are to summarize the key technical features of the enabling LCM process technology developed with ATP-funding, to describe application opportunities, and to identify, characterize, and quantify the medical and economic benefits of the LCM process technology. The case study is aimed at evaluating:

• Broad-based medical, economic, and social benefits for various patient populations and the healthcare industry.
• Public returns from ATP’s investment.
• Knowledge diffusion concerning ATP-funded technical innovation.
• Private benefits for ATP industry partners.

Analysis focuses on the estimation of quantifiable public returns for the U.S. economy, as measured against ATP’s investment during the 1996–2000 period. The analysis also identifies medical, economic, and social benefits that cannot be quantified at this time.

Return to Table of Contents or go to Section 2. Development of Low-Cost Process Technology.

Date created: April 25, 2003
Last update: August 2, 2005

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