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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Using Synchrotron Radiation Microtomography to Investigate Multi-scale Three-dimensional Microelectronic Packages
Published on: April 13, 2016
Q&A: Why use synchrotron x-ray tomography for multi-scale connectome mapping?
Yeukuang Hwu1, Giorgio Margaritondo2, Ann-Shyn Chiang3,4
1Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, 11529, Taiwan. phhwu@sinica.edu.tw.
Abstract:
To understand how information flows and is used in the human brain, we must map neural structures at all levels, providing visualizations similar to those of Google Earth for continents, countries, cities, and streets. Unfortunately, the imaging and processing techniques currently used in connectomics projects cannot achieve complete mapping for the brains of large animals within the timespan of a typical research career. However, feasible improvements in x-ray imaging would change this situation. This Q&A discusses synchrotron x-ray tomography, an exciting new approach for in situ mapping of whole-brain wiring diagrams at multiple levels of spatial resolution.
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