X-ray micro-tomography for investigations of brain tissues on cellular level Anna Khimchenko a* , Georg Schulz a , Hans Deyhle a , Peter Thalmann a , Irene Zanette b , Marie-Christine Zdora b,c , Christos Bikis a , Alexander Hipp d , Simone E. Hieber a , Gabriel Schweighauser e , J¨ urgen Hench e , and Bert M¨ uller a a Biomaterials Science Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Basel, Gewerbestrasse 14, 4123 Allschwil, Switzerland; b Diamond Light Source Ltd, Diamond House, OX11 0DE Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK; c Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT London, UK; d Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 21502 Geesthacht, Germany; e Institute of Pathology, Department of Neuropathology, Basel University Hospital, Sch¨ onbeinstrasse 40, 4056 Basel, Switzerland ABSTRACT X-ray imaging in absorption contrast mode is well established for hard tissue visualization. However, perfor- mance for lower density materials is limited due to a reduced contrast. Our aim is three-dimensional (3D) characterization of micro-morphology of human brain tissues down to (sub-)cellular resolution within a labo- ratory environment. Using the laboratory-based microtomography ( CT) system nanotom m (GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies GmbH, Wunstorf, Germany) and synchrotron radiation at the Diamond-Manchester Imaging Branchline I13-2 (Diamond Light Source, Didcot, UK), we have acquired 3D data with a resolution down to 0.45 m for visualization of a human cerebellum specimen down to cellular level. We have shown that all selected modalities, namely laboratory-based absorption contrast micro-tomography (LB CT), synchrotron radiation based in-line single distance phase contrast tomography (SDPR) and synchrotron radiation based single-grating interferometry (GI), can reach cellular resolution for tissue samples with a size in the mm-range. The results are discussed qualitatively in comparison to optical microscopy of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections. As phase contrast yields to a better data quality for soft tissues and in order to overcome restrictions of limited beamline access for phase contrast measurements, we have equipped the CT system nanotom m with a double-grating phase contrast set-up. Preliminary experimental results of a knee sample consisting of a bony part and a cartilage demonstrate that phase contrast data exhibits better quality compared to absorption contrast. Currently, the set-up is under adjustment. It is expected that cellular resolution would also be achieved. The questions arise (1) what would be the quality gain of laboratory-based phase contrast in comparison to laboratory-based absorption contrast tomography and (2) could laboratory-based phase contrast data provide comparable results to synchrotron radiation based phase contrast data. Keywords: X-ray micro-tomography, phase contrast, absorption contrast, grating interferometry, synchrotron radiation, brain tissue, cerebellum. 1. INTRODUCTION Human brain belongs to the most impressive 1 organs within the body and its disorders are a severe health problem of a modern ageing society. 2 Being diverse in macroscopic symptoms, neurodegenerative disorders have much in common on (sub-)cellular level: loss of cells, demyelination or damage of cell axons. 3 There are many open questions in the field. For example, exact causes and key clinical features of a degenerative process, such as the role of metal ions, 4–6 are not clear; knowledge about neuroanatomical connections is limited as well. 7 Thus, high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) visualization of brain tissue can be highly beneficial. 8 * anna.khimchenko@unibas.ch; phone: +41 61 207 54 41; fax: +41 61 207 54 99; bmc.unibas.ch Developments in X-Ray Tomography X, edited by Stuart R. Stock, Bert Müller, Ge Wang, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9967, 996703 · © 2016 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/16/$18 · doi: 10.1117/12.2237554 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 9967 996703-1 Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 10/05/2016 Terms of Use: http://spiedigitallibrary.org/ss/termsofuse.aspx