Now, scientists led by Northwestern University and Soochow University in China have built the first perovskite-based detector that can capture individual gamma rays for SPECT imaging with record-breaking precision. The new tool could make common types of nuclear medicine imaging sharper, faster, cheaper and safer.

For patients, that could mean shorter scan times, clearer results and lower doses of radiation. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

“Perovskites are a family of crystals best known for transforming the field of solar energy,” said Northwestern’s Mercouri Kanatzidis, the study’s senior author. “Now, they are poised to do the same for nuclear medicine. This is the first clear proof that perovskite detectors can produce the kind of sharp, reliable images that doctors need to provide the best care for their patients.”