Towards virtual histology with X-ray grating interferometry

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics
• Oncology

Background:

• Breast cancer diagnosis relies on clinical exams, imaging, and biopsies, with core-needle biopsy being the gold standard.
• Histopathology uses microscopes for morphological and biochemical analysis but has limited Z-direction resolution.
• Current imaging techniques face limitations in resolving fine details within breast tissue samples.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce two novel high-resolution table-top systems for phase-contrast X-ray tomography of soft-tissue samples.
• To evaluate the performance of these systems for imaging human breast specimens.
• To assess the potential of these systems as complementary tools in clinical histopathology.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of two phase-contrast X-ray tomography systems.
• System 1: Classical Talbot-Lau interferometer for ex-vivo imaging of human breast samples.
• System 2: Utilized a Sigray MAAST X-ray source with a structured anode for imaging breast specimens, including those with ductal carcinoma in-situ.

Main Results:

• Both systems achieved high-resolution imaging with a voxel size of 5.57 μm.
• Demonstrated the applicability of the Sigray MAAST X-ray source system for imaging human breast specimens with ductal carcinoma in-situ.
• Achieved superior resolution and contrast compared to previous methods, enabling better visualization of internal breast specimen features.

Conclusions:

• Grating-based phase-contrast X-ray CT systems can provide high-resolution, high-contrast imaging of breast tissue.
• These systems show promise as a complementary tool to traditional histopathology for breast cancer diagnosis.
• The developed table-top systems offer a viable approach for advanced ex-vivo analysis of breast specimens.