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Direct three-dimensional coherently scattered x-ray microtomography.

ABSTRACT: It has been shown that coherently scattered x rays can be used to discriminate and identify specific components in a mixture of low atomic weight materials. The authors demonstrated a new method of doing coherently scattered x-ray tomography with a thin sheet of x ray.A collimated x-ray fan-beam, a parallel polycapillary collimator, and a phantom consisting of several biocompatible materials of low attenuation-based contrast were used to investigate the feasibility of the method. Because of the particular experimental setup, only the phantom translation perpendicular to the x-ray beam is needed and, thus, there is no need of Radon-type tomographic reconstruction, except for the correction of the attenuation to the primary and scattered x rays, which was performed by using a conventional attenuation-based tomographic image data set. The coherent scatter image contrast changes with momentum transfer among component materials in the specimen were investigated with multiple x-ray sources with narrow bandwidth spectra generated with anode and filter combinations of Cu/Ni (8 keV), Mo/Zr (18 keV), and Ag/Pd (22 keV) and at multiple scatter angles by orienting the detector and polycapillary collimator at different angles to the illuminating x ray.The contrast among different materials changes with the x-ray source energy and the angle at which the image was measured. The coherent scatter profiles obtained from the coherent scatter images are consistent with the published results.This method can be used to directly generate the three-dimensional coherent scatter images of small animal, biopsies, or other small objects with low atomic weight biological or similar synthetic materials with low attenuation contrast. With equipment optimized, submillimeter spatial resolution may be achieved.

SUBMITTER: Cui C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3000860 | biostudies-other | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:The physical spaces within which organisms live affect their biology and in many cases can be considered part of their extended phenotype. The nests of social insect societies have a fundamental impact on their ability to function as complex superorganisms. Ants in many species excavate elaborate subterranean nests, but others inhabit relatively small pre-formed cavities within rock crevices and hollow seeds. Temnothorax ants, which often nest within acorns, have become a model system for studying collective decision making. While these ants have demonstrated remarkable degrees of rationality and consistent precision with regard to their nest choices, never before has the fine scale internal architecture and spatial organization of their nests been investigated. We used X-ray microtomography to record high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) scans of Temnothorax colonies within their acorns. These data were then quantified using image segmentation and surface-based 3D visibility graph analysis, a new computational methodology for analysing spatial structures. The visibility graph analysis method integrates knowledge from the field of architecture with the empirical study of animal-built structures, thus providing the first methodological cross-disciplinary synergy of these two research areas. We found a surprisingly high surface area and degree of spatial heterogeneity within the acorn nests. Specific regions, such as those associated with the locations of queens and brood, were significantly more conducive to connectivity than others. From an architect's point of view, spatial analysis research has never focused on all-surface 3D movement, as we describe within ant nests. Therefore, we believe our approach will provide new methods for understanding both human design and the comparative biology of habitat spaces.This article is part of the theme issue 'Interdisciplinary approaches for uncovering the impacts of architecture on collective behaviour'.

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Direct three-dimensional coherently scattered x-ray microtomography.

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