title: X-ray phase-contrast CT of a pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma mouse model.
abstract: To explore the potential of grating-based x-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (CT) for preclinical research, a genetically engineered mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) was investigated. One ex-vivo mouse specimen was scanned with different grating-based phase-contrast CT imaging setups covering two different settings: i) high-resolution synchrotron radiation (SR) imaging and ii) dose-reduced imaging using either synchrotron radiation or a conventional x-ray tube source. These experimental settings were chosen to assess the potential of phase-contrast imaging for two different types of application: i) high-performance imaging for virtual microscopy applications and ii) biomedical imaging with increased soft-tissue contrast for in-vivo applications. For validation and as a reference, histological slicing and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed on the same mouse specimen. For each x-ray imaging setup, attenuation and phase-contrast images were compared visually with regard to contrast in general, and specifically concerning the recognizability of lesions and cancerous tissue. To quantitatively assess contrast, the contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) of selected regions of interest (ROI) in the attenuation images and the phase images were analyzed and compared. It was found that both for virtual microscopy and for in-vivo applications, there is great potential for phase-contrast imaging: in the SR-based benchmarking data, fine details about tissue composition are accessible in the phase images and the visibility of solid tumor tissue under dose-reduced conditions is markedly superior in the phase images. The present study hence demonstrates improved diagnostic value with phase-contrast CT in a mouse model of a complex endogenous cancer, promoting the use and further development of grating-based phase-contrast CT for biomedical imaging applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Institute of Medical Engineering, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany. arne.tapfer@tum.de
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tapfer
authors.forename: Rickmer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Braren
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bech
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Willner
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zanette
authors.forename: Timm
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weitkamp
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trajkovic-Arsic
authors.forename: Jens T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Siveke
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Settles
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aichler
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walch
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D051379:Mice; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D017356:Synchrotrons; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
references.citation: Eur Radiol. 2013 Feb;23(2):381-7
references.pmid: 22932738
references.citation: Opt Express. 2005 Aug 8;13(16):6296-304
references.pmid: 19498642
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jun 26;109(26):10199-204
references.pmid: 22699500
references.citation: Radiology. 2011 Jun;259(3):684-94
references.pmid: 21436089
references.citation: Med Phys. 2011 Feb;38(2):584-8
references.pmid: 21452695
references.citation: Cancer Cell. 2007 Sep;12(3):266-79
references.pmid: 17785207
references.citation: Med Phys. 2011 Jul;38 Suppl 1:S106
references.pmid: 21978111
references.citation: J Neurosci Methods. 2008 May 15;170(1):149-55
references.pmid: 18313143
references.citation: Invest Radiol. 2010 Jul;45(7):445-52
references.pmid: 20498610
references.citation: Invest Radiol. 2011 Dec;46(12):801-6
references.pmid: 21788904
references.citation: Cancer Cell. 2003 Dec;4(6):437-50
references.pmid: 14706336
references.citation: J Synchrotron Radiat. 2006 May;13(Pt 3):260-70
references.pmid: 16645252
references.citation: Eur J Radiol. 2008 Dec;68(3 Suppl):S13-7
references.pmid: 18586429
references.citation: Med Phys. 2011 Nov;38(11):5910-5
references.pmid: 22047355
references.citation: J R Soc Interface. 2010 Dec 6;7(53):1665-76
references.pmid: 20659930
references.citation: Phys Rev Lett. 2007 Mar 9;98(10):108105
references.pmid: 17358572
references.citation: Phys Med Biol. 2011 Sep 7;56(17):5697-720
references.pmid: 21841214
references.citation: Sci Rep. 2012;2:826
references.pmid: 23145319
references.citation: Med Phys. 2008 Sep;35(9):3866-74
references.pmid: 18841837
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Sep 25;109(39):15691-6
references.pmid: 23019354
references.citation: Phys Med Biol. 2009 May 7;54(9):2747-53
references.pmid: 19369710
references.citation: Phys Med Biol. 2007 Dec 7;52(23):6923-30
references.pmid: 18029984
references.citation: Biol Open. 2012 Mar 15;1(3):269-74
references.pmid: 23213417