J. Appl. Cryst.の発刊に際して

X-ray tomography is an invaluable tool in biomedical imaging. It can deliver the three-dimensional internal structure of entire organisms as well as that of single cells, and even gives access to quantitative information, crucially important both for medical applications and for basic research. Most frequently such information is based on X-ray attenuation. Phase contrast is sometimes used for improved visibility but remains significantly harder to quantify. Here we describe an X-ray computed tomography technique that generates quantitative high-contrast three-dimensional electron density maps from phase contrast information without reverting to assumptions of a weak phase object or negligible absorption. This method uses a ptychographic coherent imaging approach to record tomographic data sets, exploiting both the high penetration power of hard X-rays and the high sensitivity of lensless imaging. As an example, we present images of a bone sample in which structures on the 100 nm length scale such as the osteocyte lacunae and the interconnective canalicular network are clearly resolved. The recovered electron density map provides a contrast high enough to estimate nanoscale bone density variations of less than one per cent. We expect this high-resolution tomography technique to provide invaluable information for both the life and materials sciences.

/pdf/ptychographic-x-ray-computed-tomography-at-the-nanoscale-15wem0r262.pdf

Ptychographic X-ray computed tomography at the nanoscale

19세기말 애국적 담론과 新小說의 정체성

Phase recovery from intensity-only measurements forms the heart of coherent imaging techniques and holography. In this study, we demonstrate that a neural network can learn to perform phase recovery and holographic image reconstruction after appropriate training. This deep learning-based approach provides an entirely new framework to conduct holographic imaging by rapidly eliminating twin-image and self-interference-related spatial artifacts. This neural network-based method is fast to compute and reconstructs phase and amplitude images of the objects using only one hologram, requiring fewer measurements in addition to being computationally faster. We validated this method by reconstructing the phase and amplitude images of various samples, including blood and Pap smears and tissue sections. These results highlight that challenging problems in imaging science can be overcome through machine learning, providing new avenues to design powerful computational imaging systems.

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Phase recovery and holographic image reconstruction using deep learning in neural networks

Inflammatory cardiomyopathy, characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration into the myocardium and a high risk of deteriorating cardiac function, has a heterogeneous aetiology. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy is predominantly mediated by viral infection, but can also be induced by bacterial, protozoal or fungal infections as well as a wide variety of toxic substances and drugs and systemic immune-mediated diseases. Despite extensive research, inflammatory cardiomyopathy complicated by left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure or arrhythmia is associated with a poor prognosis. At present, the reason why some patients recover without residual myocardial injury whereas others develop dilated cardiomyopathy is unclear. The relative roles of the pathogen, host genomics and environmental factors in disease progression and healing are still under discussion, including which viruses are active inducers and which are only bystanders. As a consequence, treatment strategies are not well established. In this Review, we summarize and evaluate the available evidence on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of myocarditis and inflammatory cardiomyopathy, with a special focus on virus-induced and virus-associated myocarditis. Furthermore, we identify knowledge gaps, appraise the available experimental models and propose future directions for the field. The current knowledge and open questions regarding the cardiovascular effects associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are also discussed. This Review is the result of scientific cooperation of members of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC, the Heart Failure Society of America and the Japanese Heart Failure Society.

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Myocarditis and inflammatory cardiomyopathy: current evidence and future directions.

We have carried out a ptychographic scanning coherent diffraction imaging experiment on a test object in order to characterize the hard x-ray nanobeam in a scanning x-ray microscope. In addition to a high resolution image of the test object, a detailed quantitative picture of the complex wave field in the nanofocus is obtained with high spatial resolution and dynamic range. Both are the result of high statistics due to the large number of diffraction patterns. The method yields a complete description of the focus, is robust against inaccuracies in sample positioning, and requires no particular shape or prior knowledge of the test object.

Hard x-ray nanobeam characterization by coherent diffraction microscopy

We demonstrate nanoscale x-ray holographic imaging using optimized illumination wave fronts emitted by x-ray waveguide channels. Mode filtering minimizes wave-front distortions and artifacts encountered in most hard x-ray focusing schemes, enabling quantitative reconstruction of the projected density, as evidenced by a test pattern imaged with a field of view of about $20\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}40\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$ and at 22 nm resolution. The dose efficiency and contrast sensitivity make the optical scheme compatible with samples of intrinsically low contrast, typical for hydrated soft matter. This is demonstrated by imaging bacteria in the hydrated and living state, with quantitative phase contrast revealing dense structures of the bacterial nucleoids associated with compactified DNA. In response to continued irradiation, characteristic changes in these dense structures are observed.

X-Ray Holographic Imaging of Hydrated Biological Cells in Solution

Ptychographic coherent X-ray diffractive imaging (PCDI) has been combined with nano-focus X-ray diffraction to study the structure and density distribution of unstained and unsliced bacterial cells, using a hard X-ray beam of 6.2keV photon energy, focused to about 90nm by a Fresnel zone plate lens. While PCDI provides images of the bacteria with quantitative contrast in real space with a resolution well below the beam size at the sample, spatially resolved small angle X-ray scattering using the same Fresnel zone plate (cellular nano-diffraction) provides structural information at highest resolution in reciprocal space up to 2nm−1. We show how the real and reciprocal space approach can be used synergistically on the same sample and with the same setup. In addition, we present 3D hard X-ray imaging of unstained bacterial cells by a combination of ptychography and tomography.

Hard X-ray imaging of bacterial cells: nano-diffraction and ptychographic reconstruction.

A compound optical system for coherent focusing and imaging at the nanoscale is reported, realised by high-gain fixed-curvature elliptical mirrors in combination with X-ray waveguide optics or different cleaning apertures. The key optical concepts are illustrated, as implemented at the Gottingen Instrument for Nano-Imaging with X-rays (GINIX), installed at the P10 coherence beamline of the PETRA III storage ring at DESY, Hamburg, and examples for typical applications in biological imaging are given. Characteristic beam configurations with the recently achieved values are also described, meeting the different requirements of the applications, such as spot size, coherence or bandwidth. The emphasis of this work is on the different beam shaping, filtering and characterization methods.

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Compound focusing mirror and X-ray waveguide optics for coherent imaging and nano-diffraction

/pdf/scanning-x-ray-nanodiffraction-on-living-eukaryotic-cells-in-1rxoecoj4m.pdf

Robin N. Wilke

Papers

Hard x-ray nanobeam characterization by coherent diffraction microscopy

X-Ray Holographic Imaging of Hydrated Biological Cells in Solution

Hard X-ray imaging of bacterial cells: nano-diffraction and ptychographic reconstruction.

Compound focusing mirror and X-ray waveguide optics for coherent imaging and nano-diffraction

Scanning X-Ray Nanodiffraction on Living Eukaryotic Cells in Microfluidic Environments