title: Enhancing Tabletop X-Ray Phase Contrast Imaging with Nano-Fabrication.
abstract: X-ray phase-contrast imaging is a promising approach for improving soft-tissue contrast and lowering radiation dose in biomedical applications. While current tabletop imaging systems adapt to common x-ray tubes and large-area detectors by employing absorptive elements such as absorption gratings or monolithic crystals to filter the beam, we developed nanometric phase gratings which enable tabletop x-ray far-field interferometry with only phase-shifting elements, leading to a substantial enhancement in the performance of phase contrast imaging. In a general sense the method transfers the demands on the spatial coherence of the x-ray source and the detector resolution to the feature size of x-ray phase masks. We demonstrate its capabilities in hard x-ray imaging experiments at a fraction of clinical dose levels and present comparisons with the existing Talbot-Lau interferometer and with conventional digital radiography.
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Houxun
authors: H
authors: Miao
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Andrew A
authors: AA
authors: Gomella
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Katherine J
authors: KJ
authors: Harmon
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Eric E
authors: EE
authors: Bennett
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Nicholas
authors: N
authors: Chedid
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Sami
authors: S
authors: Znati
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Alireza
authors: A
authors: Panna
authors: Breast Imaging Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20889.
authors: Barbara A
authors: BA
authors: Foster
authors: Breast Imaging Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD 20889.
authors: Priya
authors: P
authors: Bhandarkar
authors: Imaging Physics Laboratory, Biochemistry and Biophysics Center, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors: Han
authors: H
authors: Wen