Micro-CT of Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus by projection X-ray microscopy

The projection X-ray microscope utilises a very small X-ray source emitted from a thin (0.1-3 microm) target metal film excited by the focused electron beam of a scanning electron microscope. When an object is placed just below the target metal film, the diverging X-rays enlarge the shadow of the object. Because no X-ray optics such as a zone-plate is used, the focal depth is, in principle, infinitely large. We exploited this to apply projection X-ray microscopy to three-dimensional (3-D) structure analysis by means of cone-beam computed tomography. The projection images of a small arthropod (Pseudocneorhinus bifasciatus, 5 mm in length), was recorded at 3 degrees increments over the whole range (360 degrees) of a stepping-motor-controlled sample rotator. A 3-D image was reconstructed from corn-beam projections using a filtered back-projection algorithm. The reconstructed 3-D image showed in detail the internal structure of an opaque object.