The kickoff and implementation plan review meeting for the “High-Performance, High-Reliability CT X-ray Tube R&D” project under the Key Special Project of the National Key R&D Program on “Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment and Biomedical Materials” was successfully held.

On March 8, 2025, the kickoff and implementation plan review meeting for the “High-Performance, High-Reliability CT X-ray Tube R&D” project—part of the National Key R&D Program on “Medical Diagnostic and Therapeutic Equipment and Biomedical Materials,” led by Zhisu Technology—was successfully held in Beijing. The meeting was chaired by Hu YinFu, Project Leader and General Manager of Zhisu Technology. Su Yue, Director of the Division at the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, attended the event in person. Additionally, a distinguished panel of industry experts was invited to provide guidance and oversight, including Researcher Wu Xiaodong from the Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Researcher Wang Weidong from the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army; Researcher Cai Kui from Beijing Hospital; Researcher Wang Guangzhi, Dean of the School of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University; Researcher Meng Zhiping from the Beijing Medical Device Inspection Institute; and Senior Accountant Liu Minghua from Zhongtian Hengxin (Beijing) International Accounting Firm. Representatives from ten participating research institutions—including Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Anke Medical, and West China Hospital—also attended the meeting.

As the “heart” of modern medical imaging diagnostic systems, breakthroughs in CT tube technology have long represented a strategic frontier for advancing the domestic production of high-end medical equipment. Particularly in the ultra‑high‑end CT segment—128‑slice and above—the longstanding overseas monopoly on core technologies has become a major bottleneck hindering the upgrading of China’s medical‑equipment industry. This newly launched “listing‑and‑command” initiative is designed to break the impasse, targeting the clinical priorities of “three highs and one low”—high imaging speed, high image quality, high scanning throughput, and low radiation dose—while striving to establish a CT tube technology platform based on liquid‑metal bearings and fully owned by China. The project team will focus on five key technological pillars: developing a dual‑end‑supported liquid‑metal bearing capable of withstanding extreme gantry rotation speeds of 0.25 seconds or less; creating a revolutionary segmented anode assembly featuring a rhenium–tungsten composite target that achieves an equivalent thermal capacity exceeding 30 MHU; pioneering a high‑precision planar filament‑based electron‑optical system that delivers electron emission currents above 1,250 mA and enables precise control of an ultra‑small 0.4 mm focal spot; innovating a cathode ceramic component made from high‑purity fine‑grained alumina ceramics and modified with functionally graded surface materials, ensuring stable long‑term operation at single‑ended voltages above 140 kV; and establishing a comprehensive reliability‑design framework for CT tubes, encompassing failure modeling, core material selection, critical component evaluation, and whole‑tube reliability assessment. These groundbreaking advances will mark a decisive departure from the traditional “import‑then‑replicate” approach to CT tube R&D, ushering in a new era in which China independently defines industry standards.

At the review meeting, Researcher Hu Yinfu, the project leader, presented a comprehensive overview of the project’s three-tiered advancement framework: anchored by three strategic pillars—“forward‑design, process breakthroughs, and clinical validation”—the initiative establishes a full‑lifecycle reliability‑engineering system that encompasses critical materials, precision manufacturing and process development, overall system compatibility, and clinical‑application validation. The expert panel highly commended the project proposal, emphasizing in particular the need to integrate “clinical effectiveness” throughout the entire R&D pipeline. They recommended forming an interdisciplinary team that bridges medicine and engineering and establishing a dynamic optimization mechanism grounded in real‑world data. Furthermore, they called for leveraging national clinical research centers, such as West China Hospital, as demonstration sites to conduct comparative studies in high‑impact applications like multimodal imaging. Director Su Yue noted, “As the final ‘challenge‑based’ project under the 14th Five‑Year Plan, securing approval for this endeavor was no small feat. Through a rigorous, multi‑stage selection process that brought together competing teams, the responsibility of this historic mission has ultimately been entrusted to ZhiShu.” She expressed her anticipation that the team will demonstrate the steadfast resolve of “sharpening one sword over ten years” to deliver on its commitment to complete type‑approval testing within 18 months, thereby setting a new quality benchmark for domestically produced high‑end medical devices.

During the conference, participating leaders, experts, and industry representatives conducted on-site visits to Zhisu Technology’s smart factory, touring key R&D and production areas such as cleanrooms, exhaust rooms, and the liquid‑bearing production workshop. They expressed strong recognition of the company’s existing product portfolio and technological capabilities, while also reinforcing their confidence in the team’s ability to successfully deliver this “listing‑and‑command” project. As the only domestic enterprise to have achieved mass production of liquid‑metal bearing CT tubes, Zhisu Technology has established a product lineup spanning 3.5 to 8 MHU, with key performance metrics and service life approaching internationally advanced levels.

The successful convening of the kickoff meeting and implementation plan review for this “listing‑and‑command” project marks the entry of China’s independent R&D of CT X‑ray tubes into a critical, high‑stakes phase. Guided by the overarching strategic framework of the national 14th Five‑Year Plan, ZhiShu Technology will lead the entire project team, upholding a strong sense of responsibility and mission to serve the nation’s strategic priorities. With the resolve to “win every battle and seize every objective,” the team is committed to ensuring the project’s smooth and successful completion.