X-ray phase-contrast micro tomography of soft tissues using a compact laboratory system with two-directional sensitivity

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, cost-effective X-ray phase-contrast micro tomography system with two-directional sensitivity, capable of high-resolution soft tissue imaging using a low-power X-ray source.

Contribution

The authors develop and demonstrate a small, sensitive, and versatile X-ray phase-contrast micro tomography system suitable for soft tissue imaging in laboratory settings.

Findings

System achieves high sensitivity to phase gradients.

Successfully images soft tissues like piglet oesophagus and rat heart.

Compatible with standard detectors for flexible applications.

Abstract

X-ray micro tomography is a non-destructive, three-dimensional inspection technique applied across a vast range of fields and disciplines, ranging from research to industrial, encompassing engineering, biology and medical research. Phase-contrast imaging extends the domain of application of X-ray micro tomography to classes of samples that exhibit weak attenuation, thus appear with poor contrast in standard X-ray imaging. Notable examples are low-atomic-number materials, like carbon-fibre composites, soft matter and biological soft tissues. We report on a compact and cost effective system for X-ray phase-contrast micro tomography. The system features high sensitivity to phase gradients and high resolution, requires a low-power sealed X-ray tube, a single optical element, and fits in a small footprint. It is compatible with standard X-ray detector technologies: single-photon-counting offers higher sensitivity whereas flat-panels are preferred for a larger field of view. The system is benchmarked against known-material phantoms and its potential for soft-tissue three-dimensional imaging is demonstrated on small-animal organs: a piglet oesophagus and a rat heart.