The object
Marco Stampanoni co-invented a phase-contrast X-ray breast-imaging system that measures phase changes as well as absorption to reveal soft-tissue detail. The physical diagnostic-imaging approach became a clinical-translation project, while his PSI group continues to develop X-ray instruments and methods for applications ranging from cells to human imaging.
What Marco did
Co-invented phase-contrast X-ray imaging hardware for breast imaging and led its technical development with Zhentian Wang and colleagues.
Why it matters
The system advanced grating-based phase-contrast imaging from synchrotron research toward a physical breast-imaging technology with potential diagnostic value.
Living-status check
PSI's current people page, crawled in July 2026, lists Stampanoni as X-Ray Tomography Group Leader and ETH Zurich X-ray-imaging professor; PSI also reported his succession as research-committee chair on 26 January 2026.