High-sensitivity Imaging Research Articles

Role of Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) in Assessment of Biliary Neoplasms

Abstract Background Biliary neoplasms are commonly encountered in the day-to-day radiological practice and can be benign or malignant. Multidetector CT (MDCT) is a noninvasive imaging modality for evaluation of patients with biliary obstruction, to localize the cause of obstruction, detect the presence of mass lesion, and define its extension and identify remote metastasis. Objective To find out the role of MDCT scan in the evaluation of biliary neoplasms with respect to nature, cause and level of obstruction. Methods During the period from January 2022 to August 2022, the present study included 30 patients with clinically suspected biliary obstruction and previously radiological or laboratory diagnosed cases of biliary malignancy after fulfilling the inclusion and exclusion criteria and taking written /verbal informed consent. 16 patients were males and 14 were females, their ages ranged between 36– 85 years with mean age of 64years old. Results The mean age of participants was 63.73±11.11 years old; and slight male predominance (53.3%). in correlation to histopathological findings, MDCT was 95.2% sensitive in detection of cholangiocarcinoma (20/21*100). It was 100% sensitive in detection of combined cholangiocarcinoma & HCC (1/1*100). Also it was 85.75 sensitive in detection of gall bladder carcinoma (6/7*100). While it was false positive in detection a case of HCC. The sensitivity of MDCT to detect biliary neoplasm is 96.4% (27/28*100) with specificity of 0% (0/2*100), the positive predictive value is 93.1% (27/29*100) while the negative predictive value is 0% (0/1%). We found significant association between MDCT Final outcome with resectability (P-value 0.002) and between resectability and TNM Staging (P-value <0.0001) Conclusion Multidetector computed tomography MDCT can be considered a noninvasive fast with high sensitivity imaging tool in the assessment of patients with biliary neoplasms. The MDCT is satisfactory for staging of biliary neoplasms and for accurate preoperative assessment of the tumor extent.

PDRs4All

Context. Mid-infrared emission features are important probes of the properties of ionized gas and hot or warm molecular gas, which are difficult to probe at other wavelengths. The Orion Bar photodissociation region (PDR) is a bright, nearby, and frequently studied target containing large amounts of gas under these conditions. Under the “PDRs4All” Early Release Science Program for JWST, a part of the Orion Bar was observed with MIRI integral field unit (IFU) spectroscopy, and these high-sensitivity IR spectroscopic images of very high angular resolution (0.2″) provide a rich observational inventory of the mid-infrared (MIR) emission lines, while resolving the H II region, the ionization front, and multiple dissociation fronts. Aims. We list, identify, and measure the most prominent gas emission lines in the Orion Bar using the new MIRI IFU data. An initial analysis summarizes the physical conditions of the gas and demonstrates the potential of these new data and future IFU observations with JWST. Methods. The MIRI IFU mosaic spatially resolves the substructure of the PDR, its footprint cutting perpendicularly across the ionization front and three dissociation fronts. We performed an up-to-date data reduction, and extracted five spectra that represent the ionized, atomic, and molecular gas layers. We identified the observed lines through a comparison with theoretical line lists derived from atomic data and simulated PDR models. The identified species and transitions are summarized in the main table of this work, with measurements of the line intensities and central wavelengths. Results. We identified around 100 lines and report an additional 18 lines that remain unidentified. The majority consists of H I recombination lines arising from the ionized gas layer bordering the PDR. The H I line ratios are well matched by emissivity coefficients from H recombination theory, but deviate by up to 10% because of contamination by He I lines. We report the observed emission lines of various ionization stages of Ne, P, S, Cl, Ar, Fe, and Ni. We show how the Ne III/Ne II, S IV/S III, and Ar III/Ar II ratios trace the conditions in the ionized layer bordering the PDR, while Fe III/Fe II and Ni III/Ni II exhibit a different behavior, as there are significant contributions to Fe II and Ni II from the neutral PDR gas. We observe the pure-rotational H2 lines in the vibrational ground state from 0–0 S(1) to 0–0 S (8), and in the first vibrationally excited state from 1–1 S (5) to 1–1 S(9). We derive H2 excitation diagrams, and for the three observed dissociation fronts, the rotational excitation can be approximated with one thermal (~700 K) component representative of an average gas temperature, and one nonthermal component (~2700 K) probing the effect of UV pumping. We compare these results to an existing model of the Orion Bar PDR, and find that the predicted excitation matches the data qualitatively, while adjustments to the parameters of the PDR model are required to reproduce the intensity of the 0–0 S (6) to S (8) lines.

Full-colour-sorting metalens based on guided mode resonance

Full-colour-sorting metalens using few nanostructured layers have recently generated considerable interest as high-sensitivity colour image sensors because of their reliability and high resolution. Based on the guided mode resonance principle and propagation phase modulation, a full-colour-sorting metalens is designed, which can theoretically obtain any wavelength of light from the incident white light and realize arbitrary wavelength focusing with the same focal length in the visible range. Without the loss of generality, we propose a prototype of such metalens used for sorting blue, green and red light from the visible spectrum commonly used in practical applications. The maximum focussing efficiency is over 50% with a relatively high numerical aperture of 0.7. The proposed full-colour-sorting metalens can be used in many applications, such as colour mixing, colour holography, colour filtering, wavelength division multiplexing and so on.

Overtone photothermal microscopy for high-resolution and high-sensitivity vibrational imaging

Photothermal microscopy is a highly sensitive pump-probe method for mapping nanostructures and molecules through the detection of local thermal gradients. While visible photothermal microscopy and mid-infrared photothermal microscopy techniques have been developed, they possess inherent limitations. These techniques either lack chemical specificity or encounter significant light attenuation caused by water absorption. Here, we present an overtone photothermal (OPT) microscopy technique that offers high chemical specificity, detection sensitivity, and spatial resolution by employing a visible probe for local heat detection in the C-H overtone region. We demonstrate its capability for high-fidelity chemical imaging of polymer nanostructures, depth-resolved intracellular chemical mapping of cancer cells, and imaging of multicellular C. elegans organisms and highly scattering brain tissues. By bridging the gap between visible and mid-infrared photothermal microscopy, OPT establishes a new modality for high-resolution and high-sensitivity chemical imaging. This advancement complements large-scale shortwave infrared imaging approaches, facilitating multiscale structural and chemical investigations of materials and biological metabolism.

Deep JWST/NIRCam imaging of Supernova 1987A

Abstract JWST/NIRCam obtained high angular-resolution (0.05–0.1”), deep near-infrared 1–5 $\mu$m imaging of Supernova (SN) 1987A taken 35 years after the explosion. In the NIRCam images, we identify: 1) faint H2 crescents, which are emissions located between the ejecta and the equatorial ring, 2) a bar, which is a substructure of the ejecta, and 3) the bright 3–5 $\mu$m continuum emission exterior to the equatorial ring. The emission of the remnant in the NIRCam 1–2.3 $\mu$m images is mostly due to line emission, which is mostly emitted in the ejecta and in the hot spots within the equatorial ring. In contrast, the NIRCam 3–5 $\mu$m images are dominated by continuum emission. In the ejecta, the continuum is due to dust, obscuring the centre of the ejecta. In contrast, in the ring and exterior to the ring, synchrotron emission contributes a substantial fraction to the continuum. Dust emission contributes to the continuum at outer spots and diffuse emission exterior to the ring, but little within the ring. This shows that dust cooling and destruction time scales are shorter than the synchrotron cooling time scale, and the time scale of hydrogen recombination in the ring is even longer than the synchrotron cooling time scale. With the advent of high sensitivity and high angular resolution images provided by JWST/NIRCam, our observations of SN 1987A demonstrate that NIRCam opens up a window to study particle-acceleration and shock physics in unprecedented details, probed by near-infrared synchrotron emission, building a precise picture of how a SN evolves.

Exceptionally gigantic aurora in the polar cap on a day when the solar wind almost disappeared.

Revealing the origins of aurorae in Earth's polar cap has long been a challenge since direct precipitation of energetic electrons from the magnetosphere is not always expected in this region of open magnetic field lines. Here, we introduce an exceptionally gigantic aurora filling the entire polar cap region on a day when the solar wind had almost disappeared. By combining ground-based and satellite observations, we proved that this unique aurora was produced by suprathermal electrons streaming directly from the Sun, which is known as "polar rain." High-sensitivity imaging from the ground has visualized complex spatial structures of the polar rain aurora possibly manifesting the internal pattern of the solar wind or even the organizations in the chromosphere of the Sun.

Configuration design of 2D graphene/3D AlGaN van der Waals junction for high-sensitive and self-powered ultraviolet detection and imaging

Configuration design of 2D graphene/3D AlGaN van der Waals junction for high-sensitive and self-powered ultraviolet detection and imaging

Light-scattering-induced retardation as a high-sensitivity image contrast revealing collagen fibers.

Retardation induced by media can be used as an image contrast to depict the cumulative birefringent features and local variations of the sample, respectively. It is commonly assumed that the retardation is induced by the light propagation; however, the light scattering would generate the retardation as well. In our work, the scattering-induced retardation as a high-sensitivity image contrast for revealing collagen fibers is presented. First, it is shown that the retardation induced by fiber scattering is equal to π when modeled as cylinders. Using the data for the chicken breast and the palm measured by the polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography system as an example, the scattering-induced retardation is calculated. The measured value of π is in complete agreement with the theory, and the corresponding retardation per unit distance is two orders of magnitude greater than the light-propagation-induced retardation, demonstrating its predominant role on the overall retardation and providing a possibility for highly sensitive displays. Compared with the accumulated retardation image and the differential retardation image, the scattering-induced retardation images could exhibit sharper fiber structures even in deeper regions. This work might be helpful for the early diagnosis of collagen-related diseases.

Evaluating the Effects of Breaking Vacuum During the Fabrication of Amorphous Selenium Detectors.

Direct conversion X-ray detectors offer high spatial resolution and improved sensitivity over indirect conversion detectors. As interest increases in their applications, including utilization as the top layer in dual-layer detectors for polyenergetic X-ray detection, additional studies on fabrication techniques are required. Amorphous selenium is a well-studied high-Z semiconductor capable of high-resolution and high-sensitivity imaging in direct architectures. It is already commercially available for mammography, and much work has gone into developing it for higher-energy applications (>20 keV.) To fully attenuate energies required for the low energy (<35 keV) top layer in dual-layer detectors, a-Se thicknesses greater than 200 μm must be fabricated. However, evaporation crucibles have limited capacity and require reloading of crucible material to achieve higher thicknesses, which is performed by opening the chamber and breaking vacuum mid-fabrication. We investigate the effects of splitting the fabrication into two depositions - exposing the sample to air in between - on device performance. We find that there is no significant effect on the transport properties, and a small range of performance parameters can be found - suggesting small fluctuations between devices of ± 5%, independent of fabrication technique and thickness. This implies that as we increase our thicknesses to those required for the low-energy layer of the dual-layer detector, we can expect performance to be maintained.

Methane measurement method based on F-P angle-dependent correlation spectroscopy.

This study explores a gas measurement method based on Fabry-Perot (F-P) angle-dependent correlated spectroscopy, which achieves highly sensitive and selective gas measurements by adjusting the angle to match the F-P interference peak with the gas absorption peak. Methane (CH4) is the chosen target gas, and an F-P etalon is designed with parameters matching the CH4 absorption peak. An angle-scanning measurement system is established to enable correlated spectroscopic detection of CH4 gas. Angle-scanning measurements reveal distinct absorption signals at the angle where the F-P interference peak aligns with the CH4 absorption peak. Gas measurements of standard samples demonstrate a linear relationship between the apparent absorbance at the on/off positions and CH4 concentration, allowing for accurate CH4 concentration measurements. The study further investigates the detection limit of the experimental system, achieving a 3σ detection limit of 720 ppm under the on/off measurement mode. A conical incidence model is developed to analyze the impact of beam divergence angles on the transmittance of the F-P cavity. Simulations are conducted to assess absorption signals in the presence of extreme cross-interference, demonstrating the method's robust resistance to cross-interference. The F-P correlated spectroscopy method described in this paper, as a non-dispersive spectroscopic measurement technique, holds promise for designing high-sensitivity gas sensors and imaging applications.

Design and development of the DE-SPECT system: a clinical SPECT system for broadband multi-isotope imaging of peripheral vascular disease

Objective. Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) affects more than 230 million people worldwide and is one of the leading causes of disability among people over age 60. Nowadays, PVD remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated, and requires the development of tailored diagnostic approaches. We present the full design of the Dynamic Extremity SPECT (DE-SPECT) system, the first organ-dedicated SPECT system for lower extremity imaging, based on 1 cm thick Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) spectrometers and a dynamic dual field-of-view (FOV) synthetic compound-eye (SCE) collimator. Approach. The proposed DE-SPECT detection system consists of 48 1 cm thick 3D-position-sensitive CZT spectrometers arranged in a partial ring of 59 cm in diameter in a checkerboard pattern. The detection system is coupled with a compact dynamic SCE collimator that allows the user to select between two different FOVs at any time during an imaging study: a wide-FOV (28 cm diameter) configuration for dual-leg or scout imaging or a high-resolution and high-sensitivity (HR-HS) FOV (16 cm diameter) for single-leg or focused imaging. Main results. The preliminary experimental data show that the CZT spectrometer achieves a 3D intrinsic spatial resolution of <0.75 mm FWHM and an excellent energy resolution over a broad energy range (2.6 keV FWHM at 218, 3.3 keV at 440 keV). From simulations, the wide-FOV configuration offers a 0.034% averaged sensitivity at 140 keV and <8 mm spatial resolution, whereas the HR-HS configuration presents a peak central sensitivity of 0.07% at 140 keV and a ∼5 mm spatial resolution. The dynamic SCE collimator enables the capability to perform joint reconstructions that would ensure an overall improvement in imaging performance. Significance. The DE-SPECT system is a stationary and high-performance SPECT system that offers an excellent spectroscopic performance with a unique computer-controlled dual-FOV imaging capability, and a relatively high sensitivity for multi-tracer and multi-functional SPECT imaging of the extremities.

A high sensitivity wide bandwidth spectral system for multiple K-edge imaging

Spectral K-edge subtraction (SKES) is an imaging technique that takes advantage of the sharp rise in the mass attenuation coefficient of specific elements within an object at their K-edge to produce separate and quantifiable distributions of each element. In this paper, a high-sensitivity and wide bandwidth SKES imaging system for computed tomography applications on biological samples is presented. X-ray images are acquired using a wide and continuous energy spectrum that encompasses the absorption edges of the target materials. System characterization shows that high energy resolution (approximately 3×10−3 ) and unprecedented large energy bandwidth (around 15%) are achieved over a field-of-view of several centimeters. Imaging results obtained on contrast elements relevant for biomedical applications, namely silver, iodine, xenon, and barium, demonstrate the system sensitivity to concentrations down to 0.5 mg ml−1. The achievement of a large energy bandwidth allowed the simultaneous imaging of the K-edges of iodine, xenon, and barium and provided an accurate concentration estimation and distinction of co-localized contrast elements, leading the way for future simultaneous cardiovascular (iodine), pulmonary (xenon), and gastrointestinal/inflammatory (barium) imaging applications.

Freeform metasurface color router for deep submicron pixel image sensors.

Advances in imaging technologies have led to a high demand for ultracompact, high-resolution image sensors. However, color filter-based image sensors, now miniaturized to deep submicron pixel sizes, face challenges such as low signal-to-noise ratio due to fewer photons per pixel and inherent efficiency limitations from color filter arrays. Here, we demonstrate a freeform metasurface color router that achieves ultracompact pixel sizes while overcoming the efficiency limitations of conventional architectures by splitting and focusing visible light instead of filtering. This development is enabled by a fully differentiable topology optimization framework to maximize the use of the design space while ensuring fabrication feasibility and robustness to fabrication errors. The metasurface can distribute an average of 85% of incident visible light according to the Bayer pattern with a pixel size of 0.6 μm. The device and design methodology enable the compact, high-sensitivity, and high-resolution image sensors for various modern technologies and pave the way for the advanced photonic device design.

Bacterial imaging in tumour diagnosis.

Some bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium), have an inherent ability to locate solid tumours, making them a versatile platform that can be combined with other tools to improve the tumour diagnosis and treatment. In anti-cancer therapy, bacteria function by carrying drugs directly or expressing exogenous therapeutic genes. The application of bacterial imaging in tumour diagnosis, a novel and promising research area, can indeed provide dynamic and real-time monitoring in both pre-treatment assessment and post-treatment detection. Different imaging techniques, including optical technology, acoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear medicine imaging, allow us to observe and track tumour-associated bacteria. Optical imaging, including bioluminescence and fluorescence, provides high-sensitivity and high-resolution imaging. Acoustic imaging is a real-time and non-invasive imaging technique with good penetration depth and spatial resolution. MRI provides high spatial resolution and radiation-free imaging. Nuclear medicine imaging, including positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can provide information on the distribution and dynamics of bacterial population. Moreover, strategies of synthetic biology modification and nanomaterial engineering modification can improve the viability and localization ability of bacteria while maintaining their autonomy and vitality, thus aiding the visualization of gut bacteria. However, there are some challenges, such as the relatively low bacterial abundance and heterogeneously distribution within the tumour, the high dimensionality of spatial datasets and the limitations of imaging labeling tools. In summary, with the continuous development of imaging technology and nanotechnology, it is expected to further make in-depth study on tumour-associated bacteria and develop new bacterial imaging methods for tumour diagnosis.

High-sensitivity THz-ATR imaging of cerebral ischemia in a rat model.

The fast label-free detection of the extent and degree of cerebral ischemia has been the difficulty and hotspot for precise and accurate neurosurgery. We experimentally demonstrated that the fresh cerebral tissues at different ischemic stages within 24 hours can be well distinguished from the normal tissues using terahertz (THz) attenuated total reflection (ATR) imaging system. It was indicated that the total reflectivity of THz wave for ischemic cerebral tissues was lower than that for normal tissues. Especially, compared to the images stained with 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC), the ischemic tissues can be detected using THz wave with high sensitivity as early as the ischemic time of 2.5 hours, where THz images showed the ischemic areas became larger and diffused as the ischemic time increasing. Furthermore, the THz spectroscopy of cerebral ischemic tissues at different ischemic times was obtained in the range of 0.5-2.0 THz. The absorption coefficient of ischemic tissue increased with the increase of ischemic time, whereas the refractive index decreased with prolonging the ischemic time. Additionally, it was found from hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining microscopic images that, with the ischemic time increasing, the cell size and cell density of the ischemic tissues decreased, whereas the intercellular substance of the ischemic tissues increased. The result showed that THz recognition mechanism of the ischemia is mainly based on the increase of intercellular substance, especially water content, which has a stronger impact on absorption of THz wave than that of cell density. Thus, THz imaging has great potential for recognition of cerebral ischemia and it may become a new method for intraoperative real-time guidance, recognition in situ, and precise excision.

PH-responsive albumin-mimetic synthetic nanoprobes for magnetic resonance/fluorescence imaging of thyroid cancer.

The combination of magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging in dual-modality imaging not only resolves the limitations of conventional single molecular imaging techniques in terms of specificity, sensitivity, and resolution but also expands the possibilities of molecular imaging techniques in diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring. Herein, a novel pH-responsive magnetic resonance/near-infrared fluorescence (MR/NIRF) nanoprobe (MnO2@BSA-Cy5.5) was successfully prepared by biomineralizing manganese dioxide (MnO2) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) while coupling fluorescent dye Cy5.5 for precise tumor detection and visualization. The synthesized MnO2@BSA-Cy5.5 nanoprobes were spherical particles of approximately 22.62 ± 3.31 nm in size, and their relaxation rates and T1 imaging signals were activated-enhanced in an acidic environment. Cytotoxicity assay and hematoxylin and eosin staining demonstrated that MnO2@BSA-Cy5.5 had low cytotoxicity and good biocompatibility. More importantly, active targeting via solid tumor albumin-binding protein receptor and enhanced permeability and retention effect, the probe can be specifically aggregated to the tumor site of the 8305C tumor model and exhibit excellent MR/NIRF imaging properties. Our results show that MnO2@BSA-Cy5.5 has high resolution and sensitivity in tumor imaging and is expected to be applied as an MR/NIRF contrast agent for accurate diagnosis of thyroid cancer.

The dynamics of champagne cork popping revisited through high-speed schlieren imaging and computational fluid dynamics simulations

Cork popping represents a rich and complex fluid dynamics process, involving up to three phases (liquid, gas, and solid), three main chemical compounds (ethanol, water, CO2), and a moving cork gradually opening the bottle and blocking the fast progression of the expanding gas. In this work, we used high-speed, high-sensitivity schlieren imaging setups to provide a fresh perspective on this dynamical phenomenon. Our experimental results are systematically compared and interpreted on the basis of new computational fluid dynamics simulations. Our combined experimental and numerical works confirm the establishment of two supersonic expansions during cork popping from a champagne bottle.

Time-gated single-pixel imaging of Cherenkov emission from a medical linear accelerator.

Cherenkov imaging is an ideal tool for real-time in vivo verification of a radiation therapy dose. Given that radiation is pulsed from a medical linear accelerator (LINAC) together with weak Cherenkov emissions, time-gated high-sensitivity imaging is required for robust measurements. Instead of using an expensive camera system with limited efficiency of detection in each pixel, a single-pixel imaging (SPI) approach that maintains promising sensitivity over the entire spectral band could be used to provide a low-cost and viable alternative. A prototype SPI system was developed and demonstrated here in Cherenkov imaging of LINAC dose delivery to a water tank. Validation experiments were performed using four regular fields and an intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) delivery plan. The Cherenkov image-based projection percent depth dose curves (pPDDs) were compared to pPDDs simulated by the treatment planning system (TPS), with an overall average error of 0.48, 0.42, 0.65, and 1.08% for the 3, 5, 7, and 9 cm square beams, respectively. The composite image of the IMRT plan achieved a 85.9% pass rate using 3%/3 mm gamma index criteria, in comparing Cherenkov intensity and TPS dose. This study validates the feasibility of applying SPI to the Cherenkov imaging of radiotherapy dose for the first time to our knowledge.

Color arrestor pixels for high-fidelity, high-sensitivity imaging sensors

Abstract Silicon is the dominant material in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) imaging devices because of its outstanding electrical and optical properties, well-established fabrication methods, and abundance in nature. However, with the ongoing trend toward electronic miniaturization, which demands smaller pixel sizes in CMOS image sensors, issues, such as crosstalk and reduced optical efficiency, have become critical. These problems stem from the intrinsic properties of Si, particularly its low absorption in the long wavelength range of the visible spectrum, which makes it difficult to devise effective solutions unless the material itself is changed. Recent advances in optical metasurfaces have offered new possibilities for solving these problems. In this study, we propose color arrestor pixels (CAPs) as a new class of color image sensors whose composite spectral responses directly mimic those of the human eye. The key idea is to employ linearly independent combinations of standardized color matching functions. These new basis functions allow our device to reproduce colors more accurately than the currently available image sensors with red-green-blue filters or other metasurface-based sensors, demonstrating an average CIEDE2000 color difference value of only 1.79 when evaluating 24 colors from the Gretag-Macbeth chart under standard illuminant D65. Owing to their high fidelity to the human eye response, CAPs consistently exhibit exceptional color reproduction accuracy under various spectral illumination compositions. With a small footprint of 860 nm height and 221 nm full-color pixel pitch, the CAPs demonstrated high absorption efficiencies of 79 %, 81 %, and 63 % at wavelengths of 452 nm, 544 nm, and 603 nm, respectively, and good angular tolerance. With such a high density of pixels efficiently capturing accurate colors, CAPs present a new direction for optical image sensor research and their applications.

Detection of early pulmonary emphysema by multi-contrast x-ray Talbot-Lau interferometer.

Pulmonary emphysema is a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is an irreversible chronic respiratory disease. In order to avoid further damage to lung tissue, early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary emphysema is essential. Early pulmonary emphysema diagnosis is difficult with conventional radiographic imaging. Recently, x-ray phase contrast imaging has proved to be an effective and promising imaging strategy for soft tissue, due to its high sensitivity and multi-contrast. The aim of this study is to diagnose pulmonary emphysema early utilizing an x-ray Talbot-Lau interferometer (TLI). We successfully established the mouse model of emphysema by porcine pancreatic elastase treatment, and then used the established x-ray TLI to perform imaging experiments on the mice with different treatment time. The traditional absorption CT and phase contrast CT were obtained simultaneously through TLI. The CT results and histopathology of mice lung in different treatment time were quantitatively analyzed. By imaging mice lungs, it can be found that phase contrast has higher sensitivity than absorption contrast in early pulmonary emphysema. The results show that the phase contrast signal could distinguish the pulmonary emphysema earlier than the conventional attenuation signal, which can be consistent with histological images. Through the quantitative analysis of pathological section and phase contrast CT, it can be found that there is a strong linear correlation. In this study, we quantitatively analyze mean linear intercept of histological sections and CT values of mice. The results show that the phase contrast signal has higher imaging sensitivity than the attenuation signal. X-ray TLI multi-contrast imaging is proved as a potential diagnostic method for early pulmonary emphysema in mice.