X-ray microtomographic imaging of three-dimensional structure of soft tissues.
We report the x-ray microtomographic imaging of three-dimensional (3D) structure of soft tissues. The transparency of biological tissue to hard x-rays enables radiographic analysis of tissue entrails. However, biological tissues are mainly composed of light elements, which produce little contrast in a hard x-ray transmission image. Tissue structures were visualized by contrasting biological constituents with heavy elements. Efficient x-ray absorption by heavy-element dyes allowed the radiographic visualization of microstructures of soft tissues. The high-resolution computed tomography analysis provided the 3D microstructure of these microcontrasted tissues. Element-selective visualization of the stained tissue using x-ray absorption edges revealed the specific architecture of internal components. The structures obtained were used for rapid prototyping, giving 3D copies of human capillary vessels and fruit fly body.
Mizutani
Ryuta
R
Department of Applied Biochemistry, School of Engineering, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan. ryuta@tokai-u.jp
Takeuchi
Akihisa
A
Uesugi
Kentaro
K
Takekoshi
Susumu
S
Osamura
R Yoshiyuki
RY
Suzuki
Yoshio
Y
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014965:X-Rays; D015027:Zebrafish
D004396:Coloring Agents