Micro computed Tomography (micro CT) in Medicine and

Engineering

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To the person
who sees diamonds in the blue sky
whom I feel most alive within the worlds that never were
who dreams with me
This is for you—AI
Introduction

The discovery of X-rays app. 120 years ago changed dramatically the diag-
nostic capabilities. Since then, there have been many advances in medicine,
which have had more of an impact on modern health care. Radiology offers
the best ways of thinking about different diseases of patients and the best
methods to understand what is “real” diagnosis: moreover, it gives the oppor-
tunity to understand how we see, smell, hear, feel, taste, and touch and more
ultimately to see how sick and how healthy we all are. Recently, with the use
of Micro-CT, not only medical fields but also a large variety of disciplines can
have beneficial effects from this technique in terms of basic sciences, material
sciences, engineering, etc.
Research on the use of Micro-CT and 3D printer technologies for medical
and industrial prototyping processes are becoming ever widespread through-
out the world. Processing of CT or Micro-CT scanning data of a biological
structure, and subsequent modelling of its three-dimensional model in the
digital environment, creates its own application areas in numerous fields.
This growing demand for exploring allows us to jump in another level of
research and engineering which needs help on such techniques as Micro-CT.
It should be emphasized that success is measured by the people’s impact
on their community. This book is a team effort for creating an understanding
of Micro-CT starting from basics to fundamental research. For these reasons
and goals, this book should be regarded as a stage in learning and understand-
ing the Micro-CT imaging that will stimulate both engineering and medical
professions that seek a more in-depth appreciation of the subject and its con-
tribution to the scientific community.

Kaan Orhan
Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology,
Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
Faculty of Medicine, OMFS IMPATH Research Group, Department of Imaging
and Pathology, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven,
University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

vii
Preface

Experimental and preclinical bone and dental research has employed micro-­
computed tomography (Micro-CT) increasingly over the last two decades
which is currently being utilized in various fields such as biomedical research,
materials science, pharmaceutical medicine development and manufacturing,
composites, dental research, electronic components, geology, zoology, bot-
any, construction materials, and paper production. From a technical point of
view, Micro-CT indeed is a cone beam computed tomography technique
which utilizes geometrically cone-shaped beams for reconstruction and back-­
projection processes, having a voxel size volumetrically almost 1 million
times smaller than that of computed tomography (CT). Taking advantage of
all these benefits provided by micro-computed tomography, various
approaches in medicine and engineering are being conducted on
Micro-CT. Throughout this book, all aspects of Micro-CT, including techni-
cal details and applications in medicine and engineering, are being
discussed.
This book offers a comprehensive, detailed, up-to-date review of our cur-
rent knowledge in the Micro-CT imaging. The eminently readable text is
complemented by numerous and superb illustrations. The authors of the indi-
vidual chapters were invited to contribute because of their outstanding per-
sonal experiences in the Micro-CT imaging and research and their major
contributions to the literature on the topic.
Detailed research and Micro-CT findings are given in each chapter to
demonstrate the level of detail required for research with insightful “pearls
and pitfalls,” all designed to provide novice as well as experienced readers a
brief but concise summary of the advantages and limitations of using this
technology in the clinical setting.
In this book, the chapters follow two categories: medical approaches and
engineering approaches of Micro-CT. The technique and fundamentals of
this imaging modality will be discussed in Chaps. 2–4. Chapters 2–3 briefly
review the fundamentals of X-radiation and imaging and discuss reconstruc-
tion from projections of Micro-CT. Chapter 4 will be reviewing all artifacts
for Micro-CT imaging. The rest of the book will focus on medical applica-
tions which are covered in Chaps. 5–13, whereas the engineering parts will be
covered in Chaps. 14–19.

ix
x Preface

As a result, this book offers a comprehensive review of the state of the art
of Micro-CT imaging. I would like to congratulate the authors most sincerely
for their superb efforts which have resulted in this excellent book, which will
be of great interest not only for medical but also for engineering fields.

Ankara, Turkey Kaan Orhan

Leuven, Belgium
2019
Contents

1 Introduction to Micro-CT Imaging������������������������������������������������   1

Kaan Orhan
2 X-Ray Imaging: Fundamentals of X-Ray��������������������������������������   7
Roberto Molteni
3 Fundamentals of Micro-CT Imaging �������������������������������������������� 27
Kaan Orhan and Arda Büyüksungur
4 Artifacts in Micro-CT���������������������������������������������������������������������� 35
Kaan Orhan, Karla de Faria Vasconcelos,
and Hugo Gaêta-Araujo
5 Application of Bone Morphometry and Densitometry
by X-Ray Micro-CT to Bone Disease Models
and Phenotypes�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 49
Phil Salmon
6 Analysis of Fracture Callus Mechanical
Properties Using Micro-CT������������������������������������������������������������ 77
Burak Bilecenoğlu and Mert Ocak
7 Micro-CT in Osteoporosis Research���������������������������������������������� 87
Szandra Körmendi, Bálint Vecsei, Kaan Orhan,
and Csaba Dobó-Nagy
8 Micro-CT in Comparison with Histology in the Qualitative
Assessment of Bone and Pathologies���������������������������������������������� 109
Umut Aksoy, Hanife Özkayalar, and Kaan Orhan
9 Micro-CT in Artificial Tissues�������������������������������������������������������� 125
Leyla Türker Şener, Gürcan Albeniz, Göker Külüşlü,
and Işil Albeniz
10 Application of Micro-CT in Soft Tissue
Specimen Imaging���������������������������������������������������������������������������� 139
Gina Delia Roque-Torres
11 Applications of Micro-CT in Cardiovascular Engineering
and Bio-inspired Design������������������������������������������������������������������ 171
Bilgesu Çakmak, Erhan Ermek, Muhammad Jamil, Asım
Horasan, and Kerem Pekkan

xi
xii Contents

12 Applications of Micro-CT Technology in Endodontics���������������� 183

Marco A. Versiani and Ali Keleş
13 Micro-Computed Tomography (Micro-CT) Analysis
as a New Approach for Characterization of Drug
Delivery Systems������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 213
Müge Kılıçarslan, Miray Ilhan, and Kaan Orhan
14 Challenges in Micro-CT Characterization of Composites ���������� 225
Güllü Kızıltaş, Melih Papila, Bengisu Yilmaz,
and Kaan Bilge
15 Modeling and Mechanical Analysis Considerations
of Structures Based on Micro-CT�������������������������������������������������� 247
Gökhan Altıntaş
16 The use of Micro-CT in Materials Science
and Aerospace Engineering������������������������������������������������������������ 267
Sinan Fidan
17 X-Ray Computed Tomography Technique
in Civil Engineering ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 277
Savaş Erdem and Serap Hanbay
18 Application of X-Ray Microtomography
in Pyroclastic Rocks ������������������������������������������������������������������������ 289
H. Evren Çubukçu
19 Detection of Dispersion and Venting Quality in Plastic
Composite Granules Using Micro-CT������������������������������������������� 303
Orkun Ersoy
 Introduction to Micro-CT Imaging
1
Kaan Orhan

1.1 Introduction Hounsfield created the very first full-body

computed tomography device back in 1975, and
Micro-CT has the ability to create cross-sectional Hounsfield and Cormack received the Nobel
images of a physical object by making use of Prize for physiology and medicine with this
X-rays. Cross-sectional images created this way device in 1979. Main components of the micro-­
are then processed by relevant software in the tomography device are the X-ray tube, a
computer environment, and a three-dimensional computer-­driven step motor that intermittently
model of the scanned object is hence created in rotates the sample mounted on its body, an
the digital environment. Since the pixels forming image intensifier which focuses the X-rays in
the 2D cross-sectional images obtained by micro-­ the medium onto the camera sensor, a CCD
tomography are in terms of micro (μ) units, sci- camera which converts X-rays received into
entific and processable information on internal image data, an image collector, and a computer
structures and geometries of tiny objects or that controls all these components. Better spa-
appropriately sized pieces of larger objects can tial resolution is attained by 5–10 μm3 voxel size
be attained. Research on the use of Micro-CT and scan provided by micro-computed tomography,
3D printer technologies for medical and indus- compared to 1 mm3 voxel size scan provided by
trial prototyping processes are becoming ever computed tomography. This makes viewing
widespread both in our country and throughout areas 1,000,000 times smaller than that could be
the world. Processing of CT or Micro-CT scan- viewed by computerized tomography possible,
ning data of a biological structure and subsequent which in turn allows conducting more detailed
modelling of its three-dimensional model in the investigations. This was regarded as a revolu-
digital environment create its own application tionary development [1, 2].
areas in numerous fields. Micro-CT scanners are mostly utilized in
academic and industrial research laboratories.
In order to examine specimen such as ceramics,
K. Orhan (*)
Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Dentomaxillofacial
polymers, and biomaterials, different fields of
Radiology, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey views (FOV) could be selected by Micro-CT
Faculty of Medicine, OMFS IMPATH Research
devices relevant to the dimensions of the area to
Group, Department of Imaging and Pathology, be examined, and hence, higher-resolution
University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium images can be obtained by working on smaller
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals areas. In vitro and in vivo Micro-CT devices are
Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium currently available, and varying FOV ratios

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 1

K. Orhan (ed.), Micro-computed Tomography (micro-CT) in Medicine and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16641-0_1
2 K. Orhan

applied in these devices determine the area to be 1.2  hat Does the Life Sciences
W
examined and the resolution to be attained [3]. Profession Need in Terms
Similar to the cone beam computed tomography of Micro-CT Imaging?
devices, Micro-CT systems utilize micro focal
X-ray sources and high-resolution detectors to For scientific studies, an objective diagnosis
create 3D reconstructions of the samples [19]. using imaging techniques must be reproducible.
Main components of the micro-tomography Although there are criteria and conventional as
device are the X-ray tube, a computer-driven well as contemporary evaluation methods in life
step motor that intermittently rotates the sample sciences, there are still an unclear correlation
mounted on its body, an image intensifier which often exists between clinical relevance and symp-
focuses the X-rays present in the environment toms and the imaging findings in diseases.
onto the camera sensor, a CCD camera which There is no doubt that this is a maturing tech-
converts X-rays received into image data, an nology, but what is perhaps the most exciting
image collector, and a computer that controls all aspect of using Micro-CT is that images of inter-
these components [4]. nal structures can be obtained without damage to
Figure 1.1 shows analysis of search from the specimen. The technology provides the
www.scopus.com for “Micro-CT” on May 8, opportunity to undertake large-scale studies in a
2019. The results show that the papers pub- relatively short timescale and use museum col-
lished are increasing eventually and the works lections not normally amenable to conventional
including Micro-CT are increasing. Figure 1.2 anatomical studies [5].
shows the distribution of subjects of Micro-CT There are various applications for Micro-CT
papers found in Scopus until 2018. The vast in life sciences. Micro-CT are viable inspection
majority in medicine scope papers and follow- tools for biological applications as they can be
ing engineering. used to compliment medical imaging techniques
Interestingly, there are nearly half as many at increased resolution in the absence of dose
Micro-CT papers on tissue engineering scaffolds restrictions. Due to its nondestructive nature, CT
as there are in the nonbiology subject areas. samples can be further utilized for other

Fig. 1.1 Shows analysis of search from www.scopus.com for “Micro-CT” on May 8, 2019 that reveals the works
including Micro-CT are increasing dramatically
1 Introduction to Micro-CT Imaging 3

Fig. 1.2 Shows the distribution of subjects of Micro-CT papers found in Scopus until May 8, 2019. The vast majority
in medicine scope papers and following engineering

e­ xperimental techniques such as mechanical test- show that 2D and 3D morphologic measure-
ing and histology [6]. For life sciences ments by Micro-CT generally are highly corre-
­histomorphometric analyses are destructive, long lated with those from 2D histomorphometry.
term, and costly methods. It is impossible to The most important part for these kinds of eval-
reuse the same sample for another measurement. uations is gathering as much information to the
Due to these disadvantages, three-dimensional Micro-CT technologists which allows to have a
micro-tomography techniques have been put into proper analysis in a realistic way.
use as nondestructive, rapid, and reliable meth-
ods for analyzing micro-architecture of cortical
and trabecular bones [7]. 1.3  hat Does the Material
W
Bone quality evaluation is one of the main Sciences Profession Need
applications for Micro-CT in life sciences. The in Terms of Micro-CT
bone is a highly mineralized and multifunc- Imaging?
tional tissue, which plays roles in mechanical
support and protection, mineral homeostasis, The appearance of new digital scanning systems
and hematopoiesis. The “quality” of bone, as with numerous features in addition to the men-
well as its quantity, contributes to the biome- tioned advantages above is changing the evalua-
chanical performance of the skeleton and tion of the materials in engineering as well.
encompasses aspects of both macromolecular Previously, the material science was stuck for
composition and microarchitectural arrange- evaluation in 2D. However, 2D have several
ment [8]. The excellent reproducibility and drawbacks, including errors that are classified as
accuracy of Micro-CT measurements of bone “errors of projection” and “errors of identifica-
morphology have been established in several tion.” Errors of projection are due to the two-­
studies [9, 10]. The accuracy of Micro-CT mor- dimensional (2D) which causes a shadow of the
phology measurements has been evaluated by three-dimensional (3D) object. As a result of the
comparing them with traditional measures from various evaluations, modalities may lead to errors
2D histomorphometry both in animal and in of identification and reduced measurement
human specimens [9, 11, 12]. These studies accuracy.
4 K. Orhan

New technological advances in material sci- Acknowledgments Some of the researches in this book
ence especially Micro-CT imaging have resolved were supported by Ankara University Scientific Research
Projects Coordination Unit (Grant number: 17A0234001).
these errors and are becoming increasingly popu-
lar for evaluations for the materials, and this area
is rapidly growing (Fig. 1.2). Mainly Micro-CT
References
imaging can use not only hard characteristic
materials like geological samples but also the 1. Feldkamp LA, Goldstein SA, Parfitt AM, Jesion G,
materials such as composites to understand the Kleerekoper M. The direct examination of three-
mechanical behaviors. In particular, Micro-CT is dimensional bone architecture in vitro by computed
a nondestructive technique that visualizes inte- tomography. J Bone Miner Res. 1989;4(1):3–11.
2. Kuhn J, Goldstein S, Feldkamp L, Goulet R, Jesion
rior features within specimens with 3D imaging. G. Evaluation of a microcomputed tomography sys-
This effective characterization method can alter tem to study trabecular bone structure. J Orthop Res.
the focus size from micro to macro to obtain reli- 1990;8(6):833–42.
able image data [13]. 3. Guldberg RE, Lin AS, Coleman R, Robertson G,
Duvall C. Microcomputed tomography imaging of
In materials science it is often necessary to skeletal development and growth. Birth Defects Res
make correlations between the properties of C Embryo Today. 2004;72(3):250–9.
materials and their microstructure. In the case 4. Rhodes JS, Ford TR, Lynch JA, Liepins PJ, Curtis
of metallic materials, the microstructure is usu- RV. Micro-computed tomography: a new tool
for experimental endodontology. Int Endod J.
ally correlated to defects defined as perturba- 1999;32(3):165–70.
tions in comparison with the perfect single 5. Paterson GLJ, Sykes D, Faulwetter S, Merk R, Ahmed
crystal and to the presence of alloying elements. F, Hawkins LE, Dinley D, Ball AD, Arvanitidis
These defects are thus vacancies, dislocations, C. The pros and cons of using micro-computed
tomography in gross and microanatomical assess-
grain boundaries, pores, and cracks, and in the ments of polychaetous annelids. Mem Mus Victoria.
case of alloys, one can find foreign atoms in 2014;71:237–46.
solid solutions [14]. There are several evalua- 6. Faillace ME, Rudolph RA, Brunke O. Micro-CT and
tions that can be made by Micro-CT such as Nano-CT as a valuable complimentary tool for life
sciences. Microsc Microanal. 2013;19:636–7.
phase volume fractions and phase connectivity 7. Parfitt AM. Bone histomorphometry: proposed sys-
to more complex measurements such as spatial tem forstandardization of nomenclature, symbols, and
distributions, orientations, alignment, and con- units. Calcif Tissue Int. 1988;42:284–6.
nectivity of microstructural features. These 8. Aaron JE, Shore PA. Bone Histomorphometry. In:
Handbook of histology methods for bone and carti-
various microstructural features can form dur- lage. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2003. p. 331–51.
ing elaboration, shaping, and use of the materi- 9. Bouxsein ML, Boyd SK, Christiansen BA, Guldberg
als all along their life time [15, 16]. Throughout RE, Jepsen KJ, Müller R. Guidelines for assessment of
this book, detailed applications of Micro-CT bone microstructure in rodents using micro–computed
tomography. J Bone Miner Res. 2010;25(7):1468–86.
will be discussed in detail. 10. Chappard D, Retailleau-Gaborit N, Legrand E, Baslé
The chapters that follow fall into two catego- MF, Audran M. Comparison insight bone measure-
ries: medical approaches and engineering ments by histomorphometry and μCT. J Bone Miner
approaches and use of Micro-CT. The technique Res. 2005;20(7):1177–84.
11. Bonnet N, Laroche N, Vico L, Dolleans E, Courteix
and fundamentals of this imaging modality will D, Benhamou CL. Assessment of trabecular bone
be discussed in Chaps. 2–4. Chapters 2–3 briefly microarchitecture by two different X-ray microcom-
review the fundamentals of X-radiation and imag- puted tomographs: a comparative study of the rat
ing and discuss reconstruction from projections of distal tibia using Skyscan and Scanco devices. Med
Phys. 2009;36(4):1286–97.
Micro-CT. Chapter 4 will be reviewing all arti- 12. Müller R, Van Campenhout H, Van Damme B, Van
facts for Micro-CT imaging. The rest of the book Der Perre G, Dequeker J, Hildebrand T, Rüegsegger
will focus on medical applications which are cov- P. Morphometric analysis of human bone biopsies:
ered in Chaps. 5–13, whereas the engineering a quantitative structural comparison of histological
sections and micro-computed tomography. Bone.
parts will be covered in Chaps. 14–19. 1998;23(1):59–66.
1 Introduction to Micro-CT Imaging 5

13. Bayraktar E, Antolovich SD, Bathias C. New devel- 15. Landis EN, Keane DT. X-ray microtomography.
opments in non-destructive controls of the composite Mater Charact. 2010;61(12):1305–16.
materials and applications in manufacturing engineer- 16. Guldberg RE, Ballock RT, Boyan BD, Duvall CL,
ing. J Mater Process Technol. 2008;206(1–3):30–44. Lin AS, Nagaraja S, Oest M, Phillips J, Porter BD,
14. Salvo L, Michel S, Marmottant A Limodin N, Bernard Robertson G, Taylor WR. Analyzing bone, blood
D. 3D imaging in material science: application of vessels, and biomaterials with microcomputed tomo-­
X-ray tomography. C R Physique. 2010;10:641–9. graphy. IEEE Eng Med Biol Mag. 2003;22(5):77–83.
 X-Ray Imaging: Fundamentals
of X-Ray 2
Roberto Molteni

2.1  -Rays and Their Interaction

X process, whereas an X-ray beam is generally
with Matter composed of photons having a multitude of dif-
ferent energies, i.e., a continuous spectrum of
X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wave- energies (polychromatic radiation). Moreover,
length (λ) in the 10+1 to 10−3 nanometers range. usually γ-rays have higher energies (are “harder”)
Since the frequency (ν) of an electromagnetic radi- than the typical energy of X-rays, although some
ation equals to the speed of light (c) divided by its overlapping exists.
wavelength, i.e., ν = c/λ, this corresponds to a fre- X-rays (and γ-rays alike) have the desirable
quency range of approximately 1016 to 1020 Hz. property of interacting with matter only moder-
The energy of a single photon (E) equals to ν mul- ately, which is why they are so convenient for
tiplied by the Planck constant h (6.626 × 10−34 J s), imaging the interior of solid bodies, that they
so the energy range of a single X-ray photon falls penetrate to various depths before being stopped
between 2 × 10−17 and 6 × 10−14 joule, correspond- through absorption or scattering. Practically
ing to 100 eV (very “soft”) to 1 MeV (very “hard”), speaking and unlike visible light, an X-ray beam
where 1 eV (electron volt) is the energy acquired cannot be reflected, refracted, or focused (except
by one electron when accelerated by an electric minimally and under special conditions).
field of 1 V (the energy of subatomic particles is The interaction with matter of electromag-
usually expressed in eV and multiples thereof, netic photons in the range of energy of our inter-
1 eV corresponding to 1.602 × 10−19 J). est mostly occurs via two processes: photoelectric
Electromagnetic radiation in this energy range absorption and Compton scattering. Other two
is called γ(gamma)-rays or X-rays depending on less-intense interaction phenomena can happen:
the process that generated it: a nuclear transition production of an electron-positron pair and
for the former, a phenomenon outside the atomic coherent scattering. The former start occurring
nucleus for the latter. However, a γ-ray beam is when the photon’s energy is above 1022 keV
composed of photons all having essentially the (rest energy of the electron-positron pair); the lat-
same energy (monochromatic or monoenergetic ter is relevant just at very low photon energies.
radiation), because of the nature of the generation Both of them are outside the energy range of our
interest here and will not be discussed further.
Photoelectric absorption occurs when a pho-
R. Molteni (*)
American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial ton fully transfers its energy to the electronic
Radiology, Lombard, IL, USA shell of an atom and is thus absorbed. It predomi-
American Association of Physicists for Medicine, nates at photon energies up to approximately
Alexandria, VA, USA 30 kV.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 7
K. Orhan (ed.), Micro-computed Tomography (micro-CT) in Medicine and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16641-0_2
8 R. Molteni

Compton scattering (or Compton effect) Coefficient” (μ). Another pertinent quantity is the
occurs when a photon interacts with an atom by “mass attenuation coefficient,” which is the
yielding only part of its energy. As a conse- Linear Attenuation Coefficient divided by the
quence, its trajectory is randomly deviated, or density (ϱ) of the material. In the practical techni-
scattered. The Compton scattering is rather unde- cal arena, another related quantity—essentially
sirable (albeit unavoidable) from the radiologic equivalent to the Mean Free Path—is much more
imaging standpoint since it causes a component frequently used, that is, the “Half-Value Layer”
of randomly directed, non-information-bearing (HVL), namely, the thickness (usually in mm) of
photons to overlap the information-bearing com- a given material that attenuates by half the inten-
ponent of the X-ray beam, fogging the resulting sity of a monochromatic X-ray beam of given
radiographic image. energy. It corresponds to 0.693/μ or 0.693 times
The interaction of photons, electrons, and the Mean Free Path. So, an X-ray beam with
atoms is governed by random statistics since they HVL of, e.g., 2.5 mm Alequiv means that two and
are quantic objects. Indeed, for an individual half millimeter of pure aluminum, or of a sub-
photon, one cannot predict with certainty what stance of stopping power equivalent to alumi-
thickness (or distance travelled) of a given mate- num, are needed to attenuate it by half. Aluminum
rial it will traverse before an interaction occurs. (Al), for lower beam energies, or copper (Cu), for
Only the probability that such interaction occurs higher beam energies, is the material generally
for a certain thickness of a given material can be used to indicate the HVL for the range of interest
defined. Such probability, and the penetration in radiology (Fig. 2.1).
capacity of an X-ray beam, can be expressed as a These numerical coefficients, and the formula
“Mean Free Path” and depends upon the photon that entails them, can be derived with merely
energy and the material. The Mean Free Path is theoretical mathematical considerations from the
the mean distance travelled by a photon before an normal (or Laplace-Gauss) statistical nature of
interaction occurs. It is also—by the law of the interaction of photons with matter, which
Gaussian statistics—the thickness of material leads to the Beer-Lambert Law:
that causes a reduction in intensity (i.e., in the
A  I1 / I 0  exp  - t 
number of photons) of a monochromatic beam to
0.368 (the inverse of the Napier’s constant 2.718). where A is the attenuation of beam intensity, I0
The inverse of the Mean Free Path is used more is the beam intensity at the entrance of the absorb-
frequently, called the “Linear Attenuation ing material, I1 is the beam intensity after

Fig. 2.1 Attenuation I1/I0

of a monochromatic I0 I1
X-ray beam through an 1
increasing thickness of
material, according to
the Beer-Lambert Law,
as shown with a
wedge-shaped object of
uniform radiologic 0.5
density. HVL is the
Half-Value Layer, and 0.368
the Mean Free Path is
1/μ (the inverse of the
Linear Attenuation
Coefficient μ)
HVL thickness
HVL
1/µ
1/µ
2 X-Ray Imaging: Fundamentals of X-Ray 9

t­ransiting through the absorbing material, t is the ating the softer parts of the spectrum more than
thickness of the material, and μ is the Linear the harder part, filtering causes the beam to
Attenuation Coefficient. become slightly less polychromatic—but just
For the component of X-ray absorption due slightly. There is a common misconception that
to photoelectric effect, the mass attenuation more filtering always results into improved qual-
coefficient (μ/ϱ) depends—very steeply, namely, ity of the X-ray images, since the beam becomes
to the third power—on the (effective) atomic harder (more penetrating) and less polychro-
number (Z) of the material. This is why ele- matic. This is generally true for the minimal fil-
ments with high atomic number (like lead, tering recommended by the standards for a given
Z = 82; bismuth, Z = 83; barium, Z = 56) are application, which removes a large portion of
very effective at shielding (= stopping) X-rays. very soft radiation ineffectual for imaging but
Mass attenuation coefficients and density of all that adds unnecessary skin dose to a live patient.
the natural elements and of many substances Beyond that, the primary consequence of filtering
and compounds, for the whole range of photon is attenuation of the radiative flux that was labori-
energies of interest, can be found tabulated at ously obtained via the best application of tech-
the website established and maintained by the nology, with the hardening as a modest side
NIST—National Institute of Standards and effect. Anyway, there is an optimal radiation
Technology (USA): www.nist.gov/ hardness for every radiological process and
pml/x-ray-mass-attenuation-coefficients. increasing it further is not beneficial.
The Beer-Lambert Law is very useful and Since hardness, or penetration capacity, of a
straightforward for γ-rays, which are essentially polychromatic X-ray beam increases with filtra-
monochromatic. Unfortunately, X-ray beams tion, its HVL after a first filtration is increased.
generally are polychromatic; hence each compo- Let us suppose that an X-ray beam is made to
nent of their continuous energy spectrum involves traverse a layer of material corresponding to its
a different value of μ. The attenuation is the result Half-Value Layer; at the exit the beam intensity is
of an integral of all the differential beam intensi- half than at the entrance, and the beam is harder.
ties and values of μ through the energy If the beam then traverses a second layer of equal
spectrum. thickness of the same material, the attenuation
The Linear Attenuation Coefficient decreases will be less than before because of the beam’s
markedly as the energy increases, in other words increased hardness; therefore the beam intensity
X-rays with higher energy are more penetrant, or at the second exit will be more than half of the
“harder.” Therefore, the different components of intensity at the second entrance. In order to atten-
the spectrum are variously attenuated when the uate to half, the thickness of the second layer has
polychromatic X-ray beam passes through a layer to be increased with respect to the (1st) Half-
of material, the lower-energy portion being atten- Value Layer; this new thickness is called the 2nd
uated more than the higher-energy portion. As a Half-Value Layer; and so on with any further
consequence after the attenuation, or “filtering,” attenuating layers or filters (Fig. 2.2). Of course,
the spectrum of the X-ray beam is skewed toward this “beam hardening” phenomenon is solely due
higher energies, that is, “hardened” with respect to the polychromatic nature of the beam. The
to the original spectrum. Again, this is obtained spectrum of a hypothetical monochromatic X-ray
by absorbing portions of the spectrum in a dif- beam would be just a line (as with γ-ray); there-
ferential manner—more at low energies, less at fore there could not be reshaping of the spectrum,
higher energies—not by shifting the spectrum, hence no hardening. Thus, the only effect of fil-
whose value of maximum energy bin remains ters and of traversed materials would be attenua-
unaffected by the filtering. By selectively attenu- tion of the intensity.
10 R. Molteni

I0 I1 = I0/2 I2 > I0/4 mise the optimization of each element’s set-

tings. For instance, maximizing spatial
resolution may require increasing the examina-
tion time, the imparted radiation dose, the size
and/or the cost of the system, etc. This holds
true also in micro CT, where, however, one goal
t = HVL (1st) t = HVL (1st) is sought above all others, that is, the maximi-
zation of spatial resolution for the visualization
I0 I1 = I0/2 I2 = I0/4
of small details, whereas, e.g., irradiation time
and imparted dose are of secondary or no
concern.
X-rays are generated when electric charges
(electrons) are abruptly decelerated or as a result
of transitions between the atomic orbitals (or sta-
t = HVL (1st) t = HVL (2nd) tuses) of electrons. Two devices are used to artifi-
cially generate X-rays: synchrotrons and X-ray
Fig. 2.2 Half-Value Layer attenuation of a polychro-
tubes.
matic X-ray beam
A synchrotron consists of a very large ring-­
shaped vacuum pipe along which numerous
properly synchronized electromagnets veer the
2.2 The Radiographic Process path of a beam of electrons travelling at relativ-
istic velocity. At suitable locations along the
The radiographic process basically consists of ring, a swift deceleration of the electrons causes
four elements: the emission of “synchrotron radiation,” i.e.,
X-rays.
1. The X-ray source There is no doubt that synchrotron-generated
2. The object to be radiographed (in medical X-rays vastly exceed in quality and features
radiology, a bodily part) those produced from X-ray tubes (which will be
3. The image detector addressed immediately after). Flux and spectral
4. The software for image processing and the brightness is orders of magnitude greater; they
device for its visualization can be quasi-monochromatic, tightly colli-
mated, coherent, and even polarized, which
Together with the projection geometry, these makes possible applications unachievable with
four elements fully determine the outcome of the X-ray tubes.
radiographic process. However, synchrotrons require very large
A radiograph is produced when an X-ray and very expensive facilities that are also
beam from the source crosses the object to be expensive to operate. Furthermore, the range of
radiographed, being thus variously absorbed and X-ray energies attainable falls somewhat below
attenuated in the different parts of the object— of what is required in many micro-CT applica-
depending on its density and extent—and casts tions. There are only a few dozens of them in
an X-ray shadow onto the radiographic image the whole world; therefore they are impractical
detector, namely, a negative image of the object. for routine applications and are used mostly for
Thus, the signal is at full scale where there is no research.
attenuation (= void), while it is zero where the Compact (even tabletop) synchrotron systems
attenuation is complete (no X-rays passing have been speculated and described, but mostly
through). they are the object of experimental researches,
To optimize the radiographic result as a and their industrial production and commercial
whole, it is necessary to balance and compro- availability are still away in the future.