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Advanced phase-contrast imaging using a grating interferometer

J. Synchrotron Rad. (2009). 16, 562–572 (doi.org/10.1107/S0909049509017920)

[Phase-contrast images] (a) Phase-contrast tomographic reconstruction of a rat brain: the coronal slice has been taken at the level of the substantia nigra. (b) and its inset show a region of interest imaged at a pixel resolution of 3.5 microns.
For the same dose imparted to the sample, X-ray phase contrast imaging provides increased contrast and sensitivity compared to conventional absorption based methods. At TOMCAT, the tomographic microscopy beamline of the Swiss Light Source, we implemented a phase-sensitive imaging device based on grating
interferometry. The novel instrument, optimized for fast data acquisition and post-processing, enables high-throughput studies of low absorbing materials. A case study (see Figure) focuses on the visualization of morphological structures in a rat brain.
S. A. McDonald, F. Marone, C. Hintermüller, G. Mikuljan, C. David, F. Pfeiffer and M. Stampanoni
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