title: X-ray microtomographic imaging of three-dimensional structure of soft tissues.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Biochemistry, School of Engineering, Tokai University, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa, Japan. ryuta@tokai-u.jp
authors.forename: Ryuta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: Akihisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Uesugi
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takekoshi
authors.forename: R Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Osamura
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents