Method for automatization of the alignment of a laboratory based x-ray phase contrast edge illumination system.

Here we present a general alignment algorithm for an edge illumination x-ray phase contrast imaging system, which is used with the laboratory systems developed at UCL. It has the flexibility to be used with all current mask designs, and could also be applied to future synchrotron based systems. The algorithm has proved to be robust experimentally, and can be used for the automatization of future commercial systems through automatic alignment and alignment correction.

[1]  S. Wilkins,et al.  Phase-contrast imaging using polychromatic hard X-rays , 1996, Nature.

[2]  R D Speller,et al.  Effects of signal diffusion on x-ray phase contrast images. , 2011, The Review of scientific instruments.

[3]  Alberto Bravin,et al.  Amplification of the phase contrast signal at very high x-ray energies. , 2012, Optics letters.

[4]  U. Bonse,et al.  AN X‐RAY INTERFEROMETER , 1965 .

[5]  Atsushi Momose,et al.  Phase–contrast X–ray computed tomography for observing biological soft tissues , 1996, Nature Medicine.

[6]  O. Bunk,et al.  Phase retrieval and differential phase-contrast imaging with low-brilliance X-ray sources , 2006 .

[7]  R. Lewis,et al.  Medical phase contrast x-ray imaging: current status and future prospects. , 2004, Physics in medicine and biology.

[8]  J A Rowlands,et al.  Digital radiology using active matrix readout of amorphous selenium: geometrical and effective fill factors. , 1998, Medical physics.

[9]  J A Rowlands,et al.  X-ray imaging using amorphous selenium: feasibility of a flat panel self-scanned detector for digital radiology. , 1995, Medical physics.

[10]  V. N. Ingal,et al.  X-ray plane-wave topography observation of the phase contrast from a non-crystalline object , 1995 .

[11]  Franz Pfeiffer,et al.  X-ray phase imaging with a grating interferometer. , 2005, Optics express.

[12]  Konstantin Ignatyev,et al.  Design of a novel phase contrast x-ray imaging system for mammography. , 2010, Physics in medicine and biology.

[13]  Robert D. Speller,et al.  Coded apertures allow high-energy x-ray phase contrast imaging with laboratory sources , 2011 .

[14]  C. David,et al.  Differential x-ray phase contrast imaging using a shearing interferometer , 2002 .

[15]  Robert D. Speller,et al.  A non-free-space propagation x-ray phase contrast imaging method sensitive to phase effects in two directions simultaneously , 2009 .

[16]  A. Snigirev,et al.  On the possibilities of x-ray phase contrast microimaging by coherent high-energy synchrotron radiation , 1995 .

[17]  A. Momose.  Phase-sensitive imaging and phase tomography using X-ray interferometers. , 2003, Optics express.

[18]  R. Speller,et al.  A coded-aperture technique allowing x-ray phase contrast imaging with conventional sources , 2007 .

[19]  Alessandro Olivo,et al.  Phase and absorption retrieval using incoherent X-ray sources , 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[20]  J. C. Buckland-Wright,et al.  A new high-definition microfocal X-ray unit. , 1989, The British journal of radiology.

[21]  S. Wilkins,et al.  Phase-contrast imaging of weakly absorbing materials using hard X-rays , 1995, Nature.

[22]  F Arfelli,et al.  An innovative digital imaging set-up allowing a low-dose approach to phase contrast applications in the medical field. , 2001, Medical physics.

[23]  D. Vine,et al.  Analyzer-based phase contrast imaging and phase retrieval using a rotating anode x-ray source , 2007 .

[24]  Dean Chapman,et al.  The design and application of an in-laboratory diffraction-enhanced x-ray imaging instrument. , 2009, The Review of scientific instruments.

[25]  A Olivo,et al.  Modelling of a novel x-ray phase contrast imaging technique based on coded apertures , 2007, Physics in medicine and biology.