cone beam – international magazine of cone beam dentistry

I industry news _ imagining technique _Withthehelpofanewcomputedtomography (CT) method that is based on the scattering of X-rays, a team of international researchers has been able to visualise nanostructures in objects measuring just a few millimetres for the first time. To demonstrate the potential of the technique, the researchers reconstructed the precise 3-D orienta- tion of collagen fibres in a piece of human tooth. The new method, which was developed by a team of researchers from Technische Universität München (TUM), the Charité hospital in Berlin, Lund University and the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, utilises the scattering of X-rays rather than their absorption. Conventional CT methods calculate exactly one value, known as a voxel, for each 3-D image point within an object. The advantage of the new tech- niqueisthatitassignsmultiplevaluestoeachvoxel, as the scattered light arrives from various direc- tions. “Thanks to this additional information, we’re able to learn a great deal more about the nanostructure of an object than with conventional CT methods. By indirectly measuring scattered X-rays, we can now visualise minute structures that are too small for di- rectspatialresolution,”explainedProf.FranzPfeiffer, head of the Institute of Biomedical Physics at TUM. By combining 3-D information from scattered X-rays with CT, the researchers were able to view clearly the 3-D orientation of collagen fibres in a piece of human tooth measuring around 3 mm. In ordertodoso,1.4millionscatterimagesweretaken and then processed using a specially developed al- gorithm that builds up a complete reconstruction. “A sophisticated CT method is still more suit- able for examining large objects. However, our new method makes it possible to visualise structures in the nanometer range in millimeter-sized objects at this level of precision for the first time,” said Florian Schaff, a PhD student at the institute and lead author of the paper. The new imaging technique could be of interest for the characterisation of not only biomaterials such as bone and teeth, but also functional mate- rials such as fuel cell and battery components, the researchers believe. The results of the study were published online on 19 November in the Nature journal in an article titled “Six-dimensional real and reciprocal space small-angle X-ray scattering tomography”._ Representation of the orientation of collagen fibres within a tooth sample. The new method makes it possible to visualise structures in the nanometre range in millimetre-sized objects at a high level of precision. (Image: Florian Schaff, TUM) 06 I cone beam 1_2016 Technische Universität München Arcisstr.21 80333 Munich Germany www.tum.de cone beam _contact New X-ray imaging technique visualises teeth’s nanostructures CBE0116_06_Xray 21.01.16 10:59 Seite 1 CBE0116_06_Xray 21.01.1610:59 Seite 1

cone beam – international magazine of cone beam dentistry

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