PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New simple setup for X-ray phase contrast

Imaging method improved by scrambling X-rays from a new source

2014-07-11
(Press-News.org) This news release is available in German.

X-ray phase-contrast imaging is a method that uses the refraction of X-rays through a specimen instead of attenuation resulting from absorption. The images produced with this method are often of much higher quality than those based on absorption. The scientists in the team of Prof. Franz Pfeiffer are particularly interested in developing new approaches for biomedical X-ray imaging and therapy – including X-ray phase-contrast imaging. One main goal is to make this method available for clinical applications such as diagnosis of cancer or osteoporosis in the future.

In their new study, the scientists have now developed an extremely simple setup to produce X-ray phase-contrast images. The solution to many of their difficulties may seem counter-intuitive: Scramble the X-rays to give them a random structure. These speckles, as they are called in the field, encode a wealth of information on the sample as they travel through it. The scrambled X-rays are collected with a high-resolution X-ray camera, and the information is then extracted in a post-measurement analysis step.

High accuracy and new X-ray source

Using their new technique, the researchers have demonstrated the efficiency and versatility of their approach. "From a single measurement, we obtain an attenuation image, the phase image, but also a dark-field image," explains Dr. Irene Zanette, lead author of the publication. "The phase image can be used to measure accurately the specimen's projected thickness. The dark-field image can be just as important because it maps structures in the specimen too small to be resolved, such as cracks or fibers in materials," she adds.

The source's high brightness is also key to these results. "In the source we used a liquid metal jet as the X-ray-producing target instead of the solid targets normally used in laboratory X-ray sources," says Tunhe Zhou from KTH Stockholm, project partner of the TUM. "This makes it possible to gain the high intensity needed for phase-contrast imaging without damaging the X-ray-producing target." To obtain all images at once, an algorithm scans the speckles and analyzes the minute changes in their shape and position caused by the specimen.

But not all components of the new instrument are products of the latest cutting-edge technology. To scramble the X-rays, "we have found that a simple piece of sandpaper did the job perfectly well," adds Dr. Zanette.

The researchers are already working toward the next steps. "As a single-shot technique, speckle imaging is a perfect candidate for an efficient extension to phase-contrast tomography, which would give a three-dimensional insight into the microstructure of the investigated object," Zanette explains.

INFORMATION: Original publication I. Zanette, T. Zhou, A. Burvall, U. Lundström, D. H. Larsson, M. Zdora, P. Thibault, F. Pfeiffer, and H. M. Hertz. Speckle-based X-ray Phase-contrast and Dark-Field Imaging with a Laboratory Source. Phys. Rev. Lett., 2014.
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.253903

Contact Chair of Biomedical Physics E17 & IMETUM
Technische Universität München
http://www.e17.ph.tum.de/

Prof. Dr. Franz Pfeiffer
Head of Chair of Biomedical Physics E17
Phone: +49 89 289 - 10807
franz.pfeiffer@tum.de

Dr. Irene Zanette
Postdoctoral Fellow
Phone: +49 89 289 -10802
irene.zanette@tum.de

High resolution pictures: https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/?cfold=1224678&dir=1224678&id=1224678#1224678


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

NASA's TRMM satellite maps Tropical Storm Neoguri's soggy path through Japan

NASAs TRMM satellite maps Tropical Storm Neoguris soggy path through Japan
2014-07-11
Southern Japan received a soaking from Tropical Storm Neoguri on July 9 and 10 and data from the TRMM satellite was used to create a map that shows how much rain fell in Kyushu. Kyushu is the southwestern most and third largest island of Japan. The island is mountainous and is home to Mount Aso. Heavy rainfall from Neoguri fell on land that was already soaked in the past week from a slow moving frontal system. Typhoon Neoguri made landfall on Kyushu early Thursday, July 10, local time after affecting the Okinawa island chain. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ...

Virtual finger enables scientists to navigate and analyze complex 3D images

2014-07-11
SEATTLE, WASH. — July 11, 2014 — Researchers have pioneered a revolutionary new way to digitally navigate three-dimensional images. The new technology, called Virtual Finger, allows scientists to move through digital images of small structures like neurons and synapses using the flat surface of their computer screens. Virtual Finger's unique technology makes 3D imaging studies orders of magnitude more efficient, saving time, money and resources at an unprecedented level across many areas of experimental biology. The software and its applications are profiled in this week's ...

In lab studies, hydroxyethyl starch has direct harmful effects on kidney cells

2014-07-11
July 11, 2014 – The increased risk of kidney injury related to the use of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) in resuscitation fluids reflects the mass of HES molecules, according to a report in Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). The "total mass of HES molecules" explains the harmful effect of HES on cultured human renal proximal tubule cells (PTCs), concludes the laboratory study by Dr Christian Wunder and colleagues of University Hospital Würzburg, Austria. Other factors—such as differences in the origin or molecular ...

Better use of electronic health records makes clinical trials less expensive

2014-07-11
Using electronic health records to understand the best available treatment for patients, from a range of possible options, is more efficient and less costly for taxpayers than the existing clinical trial process, a new study shows. Research led by Professor van Staa, carried out while he was a member of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and who is now based at The University of Manchester's Health eResearch Centre, published in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) today (Friday 11 July) looked at the use of statins in 300 people with high risk of cardiovascular ...

Drone lighting

2014-07-11
Lighting is crucial to the art of photography. But lights are cumbersome and time-consuming to set up, and outside the studio, it can be prohibitively difficult to position them where, ideally, they ought to go. Researchers at MIT and Cornell University hope to change that by providing photographers with squadrons of small, light-equipped autonomous robots that automatically assume the positions necessary to produce lighting effects specified through a simple, intuitive, camera-mounted interface. At the International Symposium on Computational Aesthetics in Graphics, ...

Text message medicine: Texts from the ER can reduce binge drinking

2014-07-11
WASHINGTON —Young adults who screened positive for a history of hazardous or binge drinking reduced their binge drinking by more than 50 percent after receiving mobile phone text messages following a visit to the emergency department, according to a study published online yesterday in Annals of Emergency Medicine ("A Text Message Alcohol Intervention for Young Adult Emergency Department Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial"). "Each day in the U.S., more than 50,000 adults ages 18 to 24 visit ERs and up to half have hazardous alcohol use patterns," said Brian Suffoletto, ...

NASA sees Tropical Storm 9 over Guam

NASA sees Tropical Storm 9 over Guam
2014-07-11
Guam and surrounding areas were under a Tropical Storm Warning and Watch on July 11 as NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead. During the early morning hours on July 11, Tropical Depression 09W strengthened into a tropical storm. On July 11 at 03:45 UTC (1:45 p.m. EDT Guam local time/), the Moderate Resolution Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured a visible image of Tropical Storm 09W (09W) over Guam. The MODIS image showed a concentration of strong thunderstorms around the center of circulation, and in a large band circling ...

Getting a charge out of water droplets

2014-07-11
CAMBRIDGE, Mass-- Last year, MIT researchers discovered that when water droplets spontaneously jump away from superhydrophobic surfaces during condensation, they can gain electric charge in the process. Now, the same team has demonstrated that this process can generate small amounts of electricity that might be used to power electronic devices. The new findings, by postdoc Nenad Miljkovic, associate professor of mechanical engineering Evelyn Wang, and two others, are published in the journal Applied Physics Letters. This approach could lead to devices to charge cellphones ...

Virtual reality interface device and brain neural networks in neurological diseases

2014-07-11
Virtual reality interface devices permit the user to interact with the virtual world in real time through a variety of multisensory channels including hearing, sight, touch and smell. The virtual reality interface devices enable the reorganization of neural networks in the brain of patients with chronic stroke and cerebral palsy, thereby improving hand function and other skills, contributing to their quality of life. Virtual reality interface devices can also activate visual, vestibular and proprioceptive systems, which help control body posture and improve balance function. ...

Citalopram increases the differentiation efficacy of BMSCs into neuronal-like cells

2014-07-11
There is evidence that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants can promote neuronal cell proliferation and enhance neuroplasticity both in vitro and in vivo. Dr. Javad Verdi and his team, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran proposed that citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, can increase the efficacy of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) differentiating into neuronal-like cells. Experimental results confirmed that citalopram can improve the neuronal-like cell differentiation of BMSCs by increasing cell proliferation and survival ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

AI can spot which patients need treatment to prevent vision loss in young adults

Half of people stop taking popular weight-loss drug within a year, national study finds

Links between diabetes and depression are similar across Europe, study of over-50s in 18 countries finds

Smoking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, regardless of its characteristics

Scientists trace origins of now extinct plant population from volcanically active Nishinoshima

AI algorithm based on routine mammogram + age can predict women’s major cardiovascular disease risk

New hurdle seen to prostate screening: primary-care docs

MSU researchers explore how virtual sports aid mental health

Working together, cells extend their senses

Cheese fungi help unlock secrets of evolution

Researchers find brain region that fuels compulsive drinking

Mental health effects of exposure to firearm violence persist long after direct exposure

Research identifies immune response that controls Oropouche infection and prevents neurological damage

University of Cincinnati, Kent State University awarded $3M by NSF to share research resources

Ancient DNA reveals deeply complex Mastodon family and repeated migrations driven by climate change

Measuring the quantum W state

Researchers find a way to use antibodies to direct T cells to kill Cytomegalovirus-infected cells

Engineers create mini microscope for real-time brain imaging

Funding for training and research in biological complexity

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: September 12, 2025

ISSCR statement on the scientific and therapeutic value of human fetal tissue research

Novel PET tracer detects synaptic changes in spinal cord and brain after spinal cord injury

Wiley advances Knowitall Solutions with new trendfinder application for user-friendly chemometric analysis and additional enhancements to analytical workflows

Benchmark study tracks trends in dog behavior

OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google vary widely in identifying hate speech

Research spotlight: Study identifies a surprising new treatment target for chronic limb threatening ischemia

Childhood loneliness and cognitive decline and dementia risk in middle-aged and older adults

Parental diseases of despair and suicidal events in their children

Acupuncture for chronic low back pain in older adults

Acupuncture treatment improves disabling effects of chronic low back pain in older adults

[Press-News.org] New simple setup for X-ray phase contrast
Imaging method improved by scrambling X-rays from a new source