High-resolution Tomographic Reconstruction Research Articles

System configuration optimization for mesoscopic fluorescence molecular tomography.

Tissue engineering applications demand 3D, non-invasive, and longitudinal assessment of bioprinted constructs. Current emphasis is on developing tissue constructs mimicking in vivo conditions; however, these are increasingly challenging to image as they are typically a few millimeters thick and turbid, limiting the usefulness of classical fluorescence microscopic techniques. For such applications, we developed a Mesoscopic Fluorescence Molecular Tomography methodology that collects high information content data to enable high-resolution tomographic reconstruction of fluorescence biomarkers at millimeters depths. This imaging approach is based on an inverse problem; hence, its imaging performances are dependent on critical technical considerations including optode sampling, forward model design and inverse solver parameters. Herein, we investigate the impact of the optical system configuration parameters, including detector layout, number of detectors, combination of detector and source numbers, and scanning mode with uncoupled or coupled source and detector array, on the 3D imaging performances. Our results establish that an MFMT system with a 2D detection chain implemented in a de-scanned mode provides the optimal imaging reconstruction performances.

Towards Proton Therapy and Radiography at FAIR

Protons having energies in the GeV range have been proposed as an alternative to Bragg-peak hadron therapy. This strategy reduces lateral scattering and overcomes uncertainties of particle range and relative biological effectiveness. GeV protons could additionally be used for targeting in image guided stereotactic radiosurgery. We experimentally demonstrated the potential of GeV protons for imaging of biological samples using E=0.8 GeV protons and the pRad setup at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). In this setup, a system of magnetic lenses creates a point-to-point mapping from object to detector. This mapping compensates image blur due to lateral scattering inside the imaged (biological) object. We produced 2-dim proton radiographs of biological samples, an anthropomorphic phantom and performed simple dosimetry. High resolution tomographic reconstructions were derived from the 2-dim proton radiographs. Our experiment was performed within the framework of the PANTERA (Proton Therapy and Radiography) project. In the future, the proton microscope PRIOR (Proton Microscope for FAIR) located in the FAIR facility (Darmstadt), will focus on optimizing the technique for imaging of lesions implanted in animals and couple the irradiation with standard radiotherapy.

Microtomographic investigation of damage in E911 steel after long term creep

Damage distribution in a notched hollow cylinder made of E911 steel and crept for 26,000 h at 575 °C under multi-axial stress state is assessed. Based on high-resolution tomographic reconstructions the size, shape and spatial distribution of voids along the notch radius have been characterized. The spatial distribution of void density shows strong correlation with stress triaxiality, maximum principal stress and the equivalent von Mises stress. The analysis of the size distribution of non-coalesced voids in terms of general power-law functions describing nucleation and growth indicates that void growth in E911 steel is dominated by the constrained diffusion mechanism.

COSMIC System Description

The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and. Climate (COSMIC) is a satellite mission for the Earth sciences that will make use of recent developments in remote sensing, communications technology, and computing to solve some of the most important geo-scientific issues today. COSMIC plans to launch eight Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites in 2003. Each of these spacecraft will carry three science payloads for weather and space weather research and prediction, climate monitoring, and geodesy: 1) GPS occultation receiver, 2) Tiny Ionospheric Photometer (TIP), and 3) Triband Beacon transmitters (TBB). Each of the LEOs will track the GPS satellites as they are occulted behind the Earth limb to retrieve up to 500 daily profiles of key ionospheric and atmospheric properties. Every day the constellation will provide globally about 4000 GPS soundings. TIP will measure electron densities at the peak of the F2 layer along the satellite track. TBB transmissions will be received on the ground for high-resolution tomographic reconstruction of the ionospheric electron density. COSMIC continuos precise tracking of all GPS satellites in view, also promise to benefit geodetic studies. The COSMIC system includes the LEO satellites, ground data reception and spacecraft control stations, data analysis centers and the data communications networks. This paper gives a COSMIC science overview and describes the COSMIC system.

A bent Laue analyser crystal for Rayleigh-to-Compton computed tomography.

A new optical system to perform tomography based on the Rayleigh-to-Compton (RC) method with high spatial and spectral resolution is presented. The RC technique allows the effective atomic number of a sample to be measured and finds application in bone mineral densitometry in medicine. It is particularly useful for the characterization of the distribution of biological materials which do not exhibit distinctive diffraction peaks. The system is based on the separation of the elastic line from the spectrum that is scattered by the sample by means of a bent Laue analyser crystal, and the subsequent independent detection of the elastic and inelastic parts of the spectrum with two large-area scintillation counters. The high energy resolution permits operation at low momentum transfer, where the RC method has its best contrast-to-noise ratio for low-Z materials. The geometrical and spectral requirements in terms of the incident beam and the conical analyser crystal are discussed. A first-generation tomographic imaging system (pencil beam, scanned sample) as implemented at the ESRF Compton-Scattering Station ID15B is described. A high-resolution tomographic reconstruction of a bone sample is presented.

Projection data error estimation and correction for high-resolution tomographic acoustic microscopy

In scanning tomographic acoustic microscopy (STAM), projection error correction is necessary for high-resolution tomographic reconstruction. In this paper, both phase and alignment errors are examined. These errors arise from several sources, including the quadrature receiver channels, the unknown initial phase term, and any misalignment in the rotational scan. The data acquisition process and the image formation algorithm for the STAM are reviewed, and a description of error estimation and correction is also presented. Experimental results from the STAM are included to demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the error-removal techniques.