title: Interface-specific x-ray phase retrieval tomography of complex biological organs.
abstract: We demonstrate interface-specific propagation-based x-ray phase retrieval tomography of the thorax and brain of small animals. Our method utilizes a single propagation-based x-ray phase-contrast image per projection, under the assumptions of (i) partially coherent paraxial radiation, (ii) a static object whose refractive indices take on one of a series of distinct values at each point in space and (iii) the projection approximation. For the biological samples used here, there was a 9-200 fold improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of the phase-retrieved tomograms over the conventional attenuation-contrast signal. The ability to 'digitally dissect' a biological specimen, using only a single phase-contrast image per projection, will be useful for low-dose high-spatial-resolution biomedical imaging of form and biological function in both healthy and diseased tissue.
authors: School of Physics, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors: M A
authors: MA
authors: Beltran
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Paganin
authors: K K W
authors: KK
authors: Siu
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Fouras
authors: S B
authors: SB
authors: Hooper
authors: D H
authors: DH
authors: Reser
authors: M J
authors: MJ
authors: Kitchen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D051381:Rats; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*