Micro-X powers ahead with partnerships to advance next-gen X-ray tech

• Micro-X is adopting a partnership-led strategy to de-risk development of its world-leading cold cathode x-ray technology
• The company has secured around $80 million in funding in recent years to advance products including a portable Head CT scanner
• Key partners include the Australian Stroke Alliance, US government departments, and Malaysia’s Billion Prima

Adelaide-based Micro-X (ASX:MX1)  is taking a partnership-led approach to de-risk development of its world-leading cold cathode x-ray technology, collaborating closely with customers and government stakeholders rather than funding product development in isolation.

Micro-X’s Nano Electronic X-ray (NEX) technology uses proprietary carbon nanotube-based emitters to generate X-rays without the need for traditional heating elements.

The results are smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient X-ray machines, ideal for emergency services, clinical environments, and security screening.

Micro-X’s core technology drives the imaging in its Rover-Plus portable X-ray machine, with the company successful in several US hospital tenders and evaluations.

“Their sales team is out there talking to the hospitals and Rover Plus will potentially be quite material for them in 2026,” Morgans healthcare analyst Scott Power told Stockhead.

Morgans has a speculative buy and 12-month target price of 17c on Micro-X. Power told Stockhead the company had done a great job at finding partners to further develop their cold cathode X-ray technology.

“They’ve really turned the business around and have their cost base under control, and with the partnerships they’re forming and Rover-Plus potential sales coming through, they’re in a pretty good position for 2026,” Power said.

Enabling acceleration of core tech

Building on the success of the initial Rover-Plus, Micro-X has several funded development programs to expand its product pipeline.

CEO Kingsley Hall told Stockhead funded development programs are attractive because they are capital efficient.

“It enables you to accelerate the level of development of your core technology with external funding,” he said.

The partnership-led model allows Micro-X to advance its technology without relying on frequent capital raises or diluting shareholder value.

“The funded development we’ve had over the last three to four years would tally around $80 million,” he said. Around $60 million has been spent so far – funding that would have otherwise required significant shareholder support.

“The ability to fund development through external partnerships is really beneficial to leveraging our technology and accelerating the level of development,” Hall added.

“It shares the risk and provides valuable development feedback, while also building strong customer and partner advocacy.”

‘Time is brain’ – the portable Head CT scanner

Micro-X is also preparing to start a human imaging trial of its portable Head CT scanner, to diagnose and determine stroke type.

Hall said it’s the culmination of a four-year development program funded by the Australian government, in partnership with the Australian Stroke Alliance (ASA), Monash Health Collab and Johns Hopkins iStar labs.

Weighing just ~70kg – roughly a tenth of a standard 700kg CT scanner – Micro-X’s Head CT device can be deployed in ambulances or retrieval aircraft to determine stroke type and save precious time.

It features a curved array of 21 miniature NEX tubes, advanced high-voltage switching electronics, and a world-first curved detector co-developed with Fujifilm.

“The product is much smaller and lighter than a traditional CT and will be deployed in a standard ambulance, enabling stroke imaging to take place much sooner,” Hall said.

Annually, 15 million people globally suffer a stroke, according to the World Health Organization, with 5 million dying and another 5 million permanently disabled.

Strokes are broadly classified as ischaemic, caused by a blockage in a blood vessel, and haemorrhagic, caused by bleeding in the brain.

“Time is brain in stroke treatment and 85% of strokes are clots or ischaemic and they can be treated effectively with medicine, but it needs to be administered quickly,” Hall said.

“If you can administer the medicine in the first hour – often referred to as ‘the Golden Hour’ – it’s much more effective than after three or four hours for example.”

Hall said the ASA had been continually assessing the unit.

“Each time we achieve a milestone the Australian Stroke Alliance has signed off on it and the one they recently signed off on was around the quality of the imaging,” he said.

Micro X recently announced it had completed its first Head CT imaging test system for the ASA to install in a hospital and start human imaging trials.

The milestone triggered a $400,000 payment to Micro-X, representing one-third of its final development contract with the ASA.

Following a successful trial, a pivotal study will run over six to nine months. The study will involve imaging patients presenting with ischaemic stroke and the five types of intracranial haemorrhages associated with haemorrhagic stroke.

Micro-X has also been awarded a non-dilutive two-year $4.4m Australian Government Industry Growth Program (IGP) grant, extending Head CT imaging trials to an ambulance in partnership with the South Australian Ambulance Service and the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) Stroke Unit.

As road and air ambulances are the expected end user for the Head CT system, funding will support a major step in the Head CT commercialisation pathway and build on in-hospital trials.

“Over two years, the grant will provide for development of the ambulance-ready prototype of the Head CT, integration into active ambulances and real-world imaging trials,” Hall said.

Lightweight full body CT scanner

Micro-X is also developing a world-first, lightweight full-body mobile CT scanner after securing up to US$16.4m (A$25m) in funding from the US Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

The contract, awarded under ARPA-H’s Platform Accelerating Rural Access to Distributed and Integrated Medical Care (PARADIGM) program, supports Micro-X’s work to enhance access to advanced point-of-care imaging in rural and remote areas.

“The full body CT development is a further application of our core technology platform,” Hall said.

“It will enable people in remote and regional America to receive gold-standard CT imaging without having to travel to where a CT is located and essentially be the heart of a hospital on wheels.”

Checkpoints and Baggage Scanners

Funded by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Micro-X is also developing a baggage scanner and passenger checkpoint.

Currently, one checkpoint and two baggage scanners are undergoing evaluation at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) test lab, with two additional checkpoints contracted and currently being manufactured.

“Again, it’s an example of getting that customer feedback really quickly, which is really integral as you continue to develop a product and are making decisions,” Hall said.

Micro-X has also recently been awarded a further optional contract extension of up to $2.5m by DHS to strengthen threat-detection capabilities via software and machine learning enhancements, bringing total funding under the agreement to $31.7m.

The company has also teamed up with Malaysian developer and manufacturer of specialised screening products, Billion Prima, to develop a baggage scanner.

As part of the partnership deal, Billion Prima took a $2.4m equity stake in Micro-X – just under 4% of the company – and will pay up to $3.2m over the next 12 months for development of the scanner.

A key milestone in the development program was achieved in September, when the prototype of the new baggage and parcel scanner was delivered to Billion Prima.

This prototype enables Billion Prima to test and build early engagement among their customer base, before a commercial launch planned for 2026.

“Billion Prima is a really committed partner, and we want them to be successful in selling their baggage scanner because every time they sell one, they need to buy the tubes and generators from us, providing a strong future revenue stream,” Hall said.

The views, information, or opinions expressed in the interview in this article are solely those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of Stockhead.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Micro-X is a Stockhead advetiser, the company did not sponsor this article.