title: Live small-animal X-ray lung velocimetry and lung micro-tomography at the Australian Synchrotron Imaging and Medical Beamline.
abstract: The high flux and coherence produced at long synchrotron beamlines makes them well suited to performing phase-contrast X-ray imaging of the airways and lungs of live small animals. Here, findings of the first live-animal imaging on the Imaging and Medical Beamline (IMBL) at the Australian Synchrotron are reported, demonstrating the feasibility of performing dynamic lung motion measurement and high-resolution micro-tomography. Live anaesthetized mice were imaged using 30 keV monochromatic X-rays at a range of sample-to-detector propagation distances. A frame rate of 100 frames s(-1) allowed lung motion to be determined using X-ray velocimetry. A separate group of humanely killed mice and rats were imaged by computed tomography at high resolution. Images were reconstructed and rendered to demonstrate the capacity for detailed, user-directed display of relevant respiratory anatomy. The ability to perform X-ray velocimetry on live mice at the IMBL was successfully demonstrated. High-quality renderings of the head and lungs visualized both large structures and fine details of the nasal and respiratory anatomy. The effect of sample-to-detector propagation distance on contrast and resolution was also investigated, demonstrating that soft tissue contrast increases, and resolution decreases, with increasing propagation distance. This new capability to perform live-animal imaging and high-resolution micro-tomography at the IMBL enhances the capability for investigation of respiratory diseases and the acceleration of treatment development in Australia.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Rhiannon P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Murrie
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Kaye S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Imaging and Medical Beamline, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maksimenko
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fouras
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Paganin
authors.affiliation: Imaging and Medical Beamline, Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: School of Physics and Astronomy, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Karen K W
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Siu
authors.affiliation: Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Parsons
authors.affiliation: Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Donnelley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
keywords: X-ray; lung; microtomography; phase contrast; velocimetry