Multiple-beam X-ray interferometry for phase-contrast microtomography.

The first successful operation of an X-ray interferometer under conditions of non-planar three-beam diffraction for phase-contrast X-ray microtomography is reported. Intrinsic phase differences of the reflections used cancel from the three-dimensional phase image of the specimen. With simultaneous hkl and hkl reflections of a synchrotron radiation beam in a side-by-side geometry, the size of the usable field of view is doubled and the investigated specimen volume is increased by a factor of four.

Three-dimensional imaging of nerve tissue by x-ray phase-contrast microtomography.

We show that promising information about the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a peripheral nerve can be obtained by x-ray phase-contrast microtomography (p-microCT; Beckmann, F., U. Bonse, F.

X-ray microtomography (microCT) using phase contrast for the investigation of organic matter.

Purpose: We show that microtomography (microCT) using synchrotron radiation (SR) can be extended to include X-ray phase contrast, which is two to three orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional attenuation contrast and better suited for the investigation of specimens consisting chiefly of light elements for photon energies ranging at least from 1 to 100 keV.

Method: Phase contrast is generated by placing the specimen in one of the interfering beams of an X-ray interferometer. With use of 12-keV X-rays, phase projections of the specimen are recorded at 180 or 360 angular settings equally spaced between 0 and 180 degrees.

[New possibilities for structural analysis of bone biopsies using microcomputer tomography (muCT)].

The combined histological and microcomputed analysis of human iliac crest biopsies leads to major advances in our understanding of three-dimensional bone architecture. Microcomputed tomography avoids the time-consuming reconstruction and artifacts of serial sections. Furthermore, its high resolution allows the recording of structural differences as low as 10 microns.