Dark-field computed tomography reaches the human scale

Viermetz M, Gustschin N, Schmid C, Haeusele J, Von Teuffenbach M, Meyer P, Bergner F, Lasser T, Proksa R, Koehler T, Pfeiffer F (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America National Academy of Sciences

Book Volume: 119

Article Number: e2118799119

Journal Issue: 8

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118799119

Abstract

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is one of the most commonly used three-dimensional medical imaging modalities today. It has been refined over several decades, with the most recent innovations including dual-energy and spectral photon-counting technologies. Nevertheless, it has been discovered that wave-optical contrast mechanisms-beyond the presently used X-ray attenuation-offer the potential of complementary information, particularly on otherwise unresolved tissue microstructure. One such approach is dark-field imaging, which has recently been introduced and already demonstrated significantly improved radiological benefit in small-animal models, especially for lung diseases. Until now, however, dark-field CT could not yet be translated to the human scale and has been restricted to benchtop and small-animal systems, with scan durations of several minutes or more. This is mainly because the adaption and upscaling to the mechanical complexity, speed, and size of a human CT scanner so far remained an unsolved challenge. Here, we now report the successful integration of a Talbot-Lau interferometer into a clinical CT gantry and present dark-field CT results of a human-sized anthropomorphic body phantom, reconstructed from a single rotation scan performed in 1 s. Moreover, we present our key hardware and software solutions to the previously unsolved roadblocks, which so far have kept dark-field CT from being translated from the optical bench into a rapidly rotating CT gantry, with all its associated challenges like vibrations, continuous rotation, and large field of view. This development enables clinical dark-field CT studies with human patients in the near future.

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) DE Germany (DE) Philips Electronics Nederland BV NL Netherlands (NL)

How to cite

APA:

Viermetz, M., Gustschin, N., Schmid, C., Haeusele, J., Von Teuffenbach, M., Meyer, P.,... Pfeiffer, F. (2022). Dark-field computed tomography reaches the human scale. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(8). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2118799119

MLA:

Viermetz, Manuel, et al. "Dark-field computed tomography reaches the human scale." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 119.8 (2022).

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