National Institute of Standards and Technology における超伝導研究及び生活

Imaging with visible light today uses numerous contrast mechanisms, including bright- and dark-field contrast, phase-contrast schemes and confocal and fluorescence-based methods. X-ray imaging, on the other hand, has only recently seen the development of an analogous variety of contrast modalities. Although X-ray phase-contrast imaging could successfully be implemented at a relatively early stage with several techniques, dark-field imaging, or more generally scattering-based imaging, with hard X-rays and good signal-to-noise ratio, in practice still remains a challenging task even at highly brilliant synchrotron sources. In this letter, we report a new approach on the basis of a grating interferometer that can efficiently yield dark-field scatter images of high quality, even with conventional X-ray tube sources. Because the image contrast is formed through the mechanism of small-angle scattering, it provides complementary and otherwise inaccessible structural information about the specimen at the micrometre and submicrometre length scale. Our approach is fully compatible with conventional transmission radiography and a recently developed hard-X-ray phase-contrast imaging scheme. Applications to X-ray medical imaging, industrial non-destructive testing and security screening are discussed.

Hard-X-ray dark-field imaging using a grating interferometer

Phase-contrast x-ray imaging (PCI) is an innovative method that is sensitive to the refraction of the x-rays in matter. PCI is particularly adapted to visualize weakly absorbing details like those often encountered in biology and medicine. In past years, PCI has become one of the most used imaging methods in laboratory and preclinical studies: its unique characteristics allow high contrast 3D visualization of thick and complex samples even at high spatial resolution. Applications have covered a wide range of pathologies and organs, and are more and more often performed in vivo. Several techniques are now available to exploit and visualize the phase-contrast: propagation- and analyzer-based, crystal and grating interferometry and non-interferometric methods like the coded aperture. In this review, covering the last five years, we will give an overview of the main theoretical and experimental developments and of the important steps performed towards the clinical implementation of PCI.

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-9155/58/1/R1/pdf

X-ray phase-contrast imaging: from pre-clinical applications towards clinics

X-ray sources are developing rapidly and their coherent output is growing correspondingly. The increased coherent flux from modern X-ray sources is being matched with an associated development in experimental methods. This article reviews the literature describing the ideas that utilize the increased brilliance from modern X-ray sources. It explores how ideas in coherent X-ray science are leading to developments in other areas, and vice versa. The article describes measurements of coherence properties and uses this discussion as a base from which to describe partially coherent diffraction and X-ray phase-contrast imaging, with applications in materials science, engineering and medicine. Coherent diffraction imaging methods are reviewed along with associated experiments in materials science. Proposals for experiments to be performed with the new X-ray free-electron lasers are briefly discussed. The literature on X-ray photon-correlation spectroscopy is described and the features it has in common with other coherent X-ray methods are identified. Many of the ideas used in the coherent X-ray literature have their origins in the optical and electron communities and these connections are explored. A review of the areas in which ideas from coherent X-ray methods are contributing to methods for the neutron, electron and optical communities is presented.

Coherent methods in the X-ray sciences

This paper aims at illustrating the potential of X-ray tomography for studying the mechanical behaviour of materials through in situ experiments. Typical experimental tomography set ups which use laboratory and synchrotron X ray sources are described; advantages and limitations of both types of sources are presented. Dedicated experimental devices which allow deformation and/or temperature changes to be applied to various types of materials are described. Examples of results of in situ mechanical experiments are presented and discussed; they include monotonic tensile testing of steel fiber entanglements, high temperature compression and room temperature fatigue of Al alloys. Examples of quantitative assessment of localisation of deformation in the interior of optically opaque samples under mechanical loading are also described.

In Situ Experiments with X ray Tomography: an Attractive Tool for Experimental Mechanics

We report on a method for tomographic phase contrast imaging of centimeter sized objects. As opposed to existing techniques, our approach can be used with low-brilliance, lab based x-ray sources and thus is of interest for a wide range of applications in medicine, biology, and nondestructive testing. The work is based on the recent development of a hard x-ray grating interferometer, which has been demonstrated to yield differential phase contrast projection images. Here we particularly focus on how this method can be used for tomographic reconstructions using filtered back projection algorithms to yield quantitative volumetric information of both the real and imaginary part of the samples's refractive index.

/pdf/hard-x-ray-phase-tomography-with-low-brilliance-sources-167lq2tp88.pdf

Hard X-Ray Phase Tomography with Low-Brilliance Sources

Fabrication of diffraction gratings for hard X-ray phase contrast imaging

We report on a two-directional approach for grating based x-ray differential phase contrast imaging. In order to retrieve good quality and artifact-free phase images for quantitative analysis and image processing, particular emphasis is put on the algorithm for proper phase retrieval. Examples of application are discussed that demonstrate the functionality of the method even in cases where the one-dimensional phase integration fails completely.

/pdf/a-two-directional-approach-for-grating-based-differential-3dwef5fg9l.pdf

A two-directional approach for grating based differential phase contrast imaging using hard x-rays.

The coherence requirements for efficient operation of an X-ray grating interferometer are discussed. It is shown how a Talbot–Lau geometry, in which an array of equidistant secondary sources is used, can be used to decouple fringe visibility in the interferometer (and thus, its efficiency) from the total size of the X-ray source. This principle can be used for phase-contrast radiography and tomography with sources of low brilliance, such as X-ray tubes.

Tomography with grating interferometers at low-brilliance sources

The sensitivity of x-ray radiographic images, meaning the minimal detectable change in the thickness or in the index of refraction of a sample, is directly related to the uncertainty of the measurement method. In the following work, we report on the recent development of quantitative descriptions for the stochastic error of grating-based differential phase contrast imaging (DPCi). Our model includes the noise transfer characteristics of the x-ray detector and the jitter of the phase steps. We find that the noise in DPCi depends strongly on the phase stepping visibility and the sample properties. The results are supported by experimental evidence acquired with our new instrument with a field of view of 50×70 mm2. Our conclusions provide general guidelines to optimize grating interferometers for specific applications and problems.

Christian Kottler

Papers

Hard X-Ray Phase Tomography with Low-Brilliance Sources

Fabrication of diffraction gratings for hard X-ray phase contrast imaging

A two-directional approach for grating based differential phase contrast imaging using hard x-rays.

Tomography with grating interferometers at low-brilliance sources

Noise analysis of grating-based x-ray differential phase contrast imaging.