{
  "id": 2940127,
  "title": "China team brings X-ray vision to life with a compact high-speed ghost video cam",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/china-team-brings-x-ray-vision-to-life-with-a-compact-high-speed-2940127",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-24T04:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3364808/china-team-brings-x-ray-vision-life-compact-high-speed-ghost-video-cam"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chinese researchers have created an innovative tabletop X-ray ghost imaging system that enables real-time \"see-through\" video capture of fast-moving objects. This method could be applied to inspect dynamic objects such as aircraft engines or monitor biological movements like heartbeats with lower radiation exposure and a simpler setup compared to traditional X-ray techniques. As detailed in a paper published in Communications Physics on August 15, the team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University demonstrated that their system can operate with a standard tabletop X-ray source, making it cost-effective and easy to use. The researchers highlighted the significant potential of this technology for medical imaging and the non-destructive examination of mechanical components. Conventional X-ray imaging, while useful for static objects, struggles with dynamic subjects due to longer acquisition times and higher radiation doses. Conventional X-ray imaging works by passing X-rays through an object, which are absorbed differently depending on the materials, and then captured by a detector to create an image. Ghost imaging works by illuminating an object with X-rays that pass through a patterned filter, with the intensity of light reaching a single-pixel detector measured and used to reconstruct the image via computer analysis. Existing ghost imaging methods have been hampered by lengthy acquisition times, making them unsuitable for real-time applications. To address this, the Chinese team employed a rapidly rotating filter or mask with intricate patterns to facilitate faster image capture. Their breakthrough allowed for up to 200 frames per second in two-dimensional high-resolution X-ray ghost imaging of moving objects. While initial tests on a spinning copper disk with lettering showed the system's accuracy, the image quality decreased as the disk rotated faster. In comparison to regular X-ray cameras, the ghost imaging system produced lower-quality images overall, but it captured continuous motion without the distortion and blank frames associated with traditional methods. System limitations for faster imaging are primarily dictated by the rotation speed of the mask and the sampling frequency of the detector. The team's method is not restricted to specific wavelengths and is particularly well-suited for scenarios where traditional array cameras are impractical, expensive, or hard to maintain. The peer-reviewed research has been made available online ahead of the final editing process to provide timely access to the findings.",
  "summary": "Chinese scientists have developed a new tabletop X-ray ghost imaging method that allows them to capture real-time “see-through” video of fast-moving objects. The team’s system could be used to capture dynamic objects such as rotating aircraft engines or biological movements like a beating heart. Importantly, this could all be accomplished with a lower radiation dose and simpler set-up than…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "China team brings X-ray vision to life with a compact high-speed ghost video cam",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/china-team-brings-x-ray-vision-to-life-with-a-compact-high-speed",
        "published": "2026-08-24T04:00:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}