Tissue chemical analysis with muonic x rays

The stopped muon channel at the Clinton P. Anderson Meson Physics Facility was used as a source of muons for studying the elemental composition of tissue via muonic x rays. The x-ray spectra from several types of tissue were used to determine the amounts of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen present. These determinations agree with the results of more conventional chemical analysis. Muonic x rays offer a noninvasive technique for determining the amounts of the more abundant elements in selected regions of the body.