Open AccessTowards synchrotron phase‐contrast lung imaging in patients – a proof‐of‐concept study on porcine lungs in a human‐scale chest phantom
Author(s) -
Wagner Willi L.,
Wuennemann Felix,
Pacilé Serena,
Albers Jonas,
Arfelli Fulvia,
Dreossi Diego,
Biederer Jürgen,
Konietzke Philip,
Stiller Wolfram,
Wielpütz Mark O.,
Accardo Agostino,
Confalonieri Marco,
Cova Maria,
Lotz Joachim,
Alves Frauke,
Kauczor Hans-Ulrich,
Tromba Giuliana,
Dullin Christian
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of synchrotron radiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.172
H-Index - 99
ISSN - 1600-5775
DOI - 10.1107/s1600577518013401
Subject(s) - imaging phantom , lung , nodule (geology) , radiology , medicine , synchrotron , nuclear medicine , human lung , tomography , physics , biology , optics , paleontology
In‐line free propagation phase‐contrast synchrotron tomography of the lungs has been shown to provide superior image quality compared with attenuation‐based computed tomography (CT) in small‐animal studies. The present study was performed to prove the applicability on a human‐patient scale using a chest phantom with ventilated fresh porcine lungs. Local areas of interest were imaged with a pixel size of 100 µm, yielding a high‐resolution depiction of anatomical hallmarks of healthy lungs and artificial lung nodules. Details like fine spiculations into surrounding alveolar spaces were shown on a micrometre scale. Minor differences in artificial lung nodule density were detected by phase retrieval. Since we only applied a fraction of the X‐ray dose used for clinical high‐resolution CT scans, it is believed that this approach may become applicable to the detailed assessment of focal lung lesions in patients in the future.