A grating-based single-shot x-ray phase contrast and diffraction method for in vivo imaging

The purpose of this study is to develop a single-shot version of the grating-based phase contrast x-ray imaging method and demonstrate its capability of in vivo animal imaging. Here, the authors describe the principle and experimental results. They show the source of artifacts in the phase contrast signal and optimal designs that minimize them. They also discuss its current limitations and ways to overcome them.

A single lead grid was inserted midway between an x-ray tube and an x-ray camera in the planar radiography setting. The grid acted as a transmission grating and cast periodic dark fringes on the camera. The camera had sufficient spatial resolution to resolve the fringes. Refraction and diffraction in the imaged object manifested as position shifts and amplitude attenuation of the fringes, respectively. In order to quantify these changes precisely without imposing a fixed geometric relationship between the camera pixel array and the fringes, a spatial harmonic method in the Fourier domain was developed. The level of the differential phase (refraction) contrast as a function of hardware specifications and device geometry was derived and used to guide the optimal placement of the grid and object. Both ex vivo and in vivo images of rodent extremities were collected to demonstrate the capability of the method. The exposure time using a 50 W tube was 28 s.

Differential phase contrast images of glass beads acquired at various grid and object positions confirmed theoretical predictions of how phase contrast and extraneous artifacts vary with the device geometry. In anesthetized rats, a single exposure yielded artifact-free images of absorption, differential phase contrast, and diffraction. Differential phase contrast was strongest at bone-soft tissue interfaces, while diffraction was strongest in bone.

The spatial harmonic method allowed us to obtain absorption, differential phase contrast, and diffraction images, all from a single raw image and is feasible in live animals. Because the sensitivity of the method scales with the density of the gratings, custom microfabricated gratings should be superior to off-the-shelf lead grids.