A method for high-energy, low-dose mammography using edge illumination x-ray phase-contrast imaging

For imaging events of extremely short duration, like shock waves or explosions, it is necessary to be able to image the object with a single-shot exposure. A suitable setup is given by a laser-induced X-ray source such as the one that can be found at GSI (Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH) in Darmstadt (Society for Heavy Ion Research), Germany. There, it is possible to direct a pulse from the high-energy laser Petawatt High Energy Laser for Heavy Ion eXperiments (PHELIX) on a tungsten wire to generate a picosecond polychromatic X-ray pulse, called backlighter. For grating-based single-shot phase-contrast imaging of shock waves or exploding wires, it is important to know the weighted mean energy of the X-ray spectrum for choosing a suitable setup. In propagation-based phase-contrast imaging the knowledge of the weighted mean energy is necessary to be able to reconstruct quantitative phase images of unknown objects. Hence, we developed a method to evaluate the weighted mean energy of the X-ray backlighter spectrum using propagation-based phase-contrast images. In a first step wave-field simulations are performed to verify the results. Furthermore, our evaluation is cross-checked with monochromatic synchrotron measurements with known energy at Diamond Light Source (DLS, Didcot, UK) for proof of concepts.

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Double sided grating fabrication for high energy X-ray phase contrast imaging

Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing ◽

10.1016/j.mssp.2018.04.016 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 92 ◽

pp. 86-90 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Andrew E. Hollowell ◽

Christian L. Arrington ◽

Patrick Finnegan ◽

Kate Musick ◽

Paul Resnick ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phase Contrast ◽

High Energy ◽

Phase Contrast Imaging ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

X Ray ◽

Grating Fabrication

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X-Ray Phase Contrast Imaging of Liquid Film and Spray Development Inside an Aircraft Engine Swirler

Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power ◽

10.1115/1.4045217 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 141 (12) ◽

Author(s):

Brandon A. Sforzo ◽

Alan L. Kastengren ◽

Katarzyna E. Matusik ◽

Felipe Gomez del Campo ◽

Christopher F. Powell

Keyword(s):

Liquid Film ◽

High Speed ◽

Phase Contrast ◽

Air Flow ◽

High Energy ◽

Phase Contrast Imaging ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

Spray Cone ◽

Validation Data ◽

X Ray

Abstract Modern aircraft engines combine liquid fuel and air using an intricate flow device with many fuel and air flow passages. To date, the process by which the fuel atomizes within this swirler set has not been examined directly due to optical access limitations. In this work, high-speed X-ray phase-contrast imaging of a liquid spray inside a gas turbine engine swirler geometry is presented. Measurements were carried out at the 7-BM beamline of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory using the high-energy broadband X-ray beam. The synchrotron X-ray source provides the necessary photon energy and flux to capture time-resolved fluid phenomena within the confines of the relevant geometry while liquid and air are flowing. Spray nozzle hardware and geometries were provided by the National Jet Fuels Combustion Program (NJFCP), allowing for characterization of the spray using a commercially relevant configuration. Modified swirlers were three-dimensional printed with acrylic to improve imaging access while maintaining influential internal features. Water was used as a surrogate fluid for these studies to demonstrate the visualization capabilities. The experiments were conducted at atmospheric exit pressure conditions with a pressure drop of 6% across the swirler. High-speed imaging of the pilot spray cone revealed sheet breakup several millimeters downstream of the orifice exit, upon interaction with the radial assist air flow. These droplets and ligaments were observed to impinge on the inner filming surface of the swirler and flow toward the exit while developing a tangential flow. Under these conditions, the liquid film grows up to several hundred microns in thickness on the filming surface, and subsequently forms ligaments up to several millimeters in length before breaking up. This work demonstrates the capability of X-ray diagnostics in visualizing liquid flows within solid geometries of technical relevance. Furthermore, the spatial quantification of filming flows and liquid interaction with the swirler air provides validation data for modeling of the multiphase flows and surface interactions within the swirler.

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Using Microbubble as Contrast Agent for High-energy X-ray In-line Phase Contrast Imaging: Demonstration and Comparison Study

IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering ◽

10.1109/tbme.2017.2741942 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-1 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Di Wu ◽

Molly Donovan Wong ◽

Kai Yang ◽

Aimin Yan ◽

Yuhua Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Contrast Agent ◽

Phase Contrast ◽

High Energy ◽

Phase Contrast Imaging ◽

Comparison Study ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

X Ray

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Low-dose and fast grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging

Optical Engineering ◽

10.1117/1.oe.56.9.094110 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 56 (09) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Faiz Wali ◽

Shenghao Wang ◽

Huajie Han ◽

Kun Gao ◽

Zhao Wu

Keyword(s):

Phase Contrast ◽

Low Dose ◽

Phase Contrast Imaging ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

X Ray

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Low-dose in situ prelocation of protein microcrystals by 2D X-ray phase-contrast imaging for serial crystallography

IUCrJ ◽

10.1107/s2052252520013238 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 1131-1141

Author(s):

Isabelle Martiel ◽

Chia-Ying Huang ◽

Pablo Villanueva-Perez ◽

Ezequiel Panepucci ◽

Shibom Basu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Phase Contrast ◽

Low Dose ◽

Phase Contrast Imaging ◽

Cubic Phase ◽

Macromolecular Crystallography ◽

Contrast Imaging ◽

X Ray ◽

Serial Data

Serial protein crystallography has emerged as a powerful method of data collection on small crystals from challenging targets, such as membrane proteins. Multiple microcrystals need to be located on large and often flat mounts while exposing them to an X-ray dose that is as low as possible. A crystal-prelocation method is demonstrated here using low-dose 2D full-field propagation-based X-ray phase-contrast imaging at the X-ray imaging beamline TOMCAT at the Swiss Light Source (SLS). This imaging step provides microcrystal coordinates for automated serial data collection at a microfocus macromolecular crystallography beamline on samples with an essentially flat geometry. This prelocation method was applied to microcrystals of a soluble protein and a membrane protein, grown in a commonly used double-sandwich in situ crystallization plate. The inner sandwiches of thin plastic film enclosing the microcrystals in lipid cubic phase were flash cooled and imaged at TOMCAT. Based on the obtained crystal coordinates, both still and rotation wedge serial data were collected automatically at the SLS PXI beamline, yielding in both cases a high indexing rate. This workflow can be easily implemented at many synchrotron facilities using existing equipment, or potentially integrated as an online technique in the next-generation macromolecular crystallography beamline, and thus benefit a number of dose-sensitive challenging protein targets.

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