Abstract

Conventional x-ray imaging allows us to look inside an object or patient, but is primarily sensitive only to dense materials like bone or metal. Emerging methods of x-ray imaging now provide the ability to also capture weakly-attenuating materials like muscle, fat and other soft tissues. These x-ray phase contrast methods open the door to a range of applications in biomedical research and medical imaging, in particular for soft tissue organs like the lungs. This talk will describe several of our x-ray phase contrast imaging studies, including studies on regional treatment delivery, the effect of treatments on respiratory function and brain structure.

Because phase contrast methods work best with a monochromatic highly-coherent source, we began this research at large scale synchrotron x-ray sources. We have more recently performed imaging at lower-cost and compact sources including an Excillum Liquid Metal Jet and the Munich Compact Light Source. These provide the potential for ongoing access for longitudinal studies and present a path towards more widespread adoption of phase contrast x-ray imaging for a range of applications.

Figure 1. X-ray phase-contrast imaging is sensitive to the soft tissue structures of the lung, rendered here in 3D by combining phase contrast with CT. The red dots indicate where microbeads have landed, providing feedback on treatment delivery protocols.