Tomography of human trabecular bone with a laser-wakefield driven x-ray source
File(s)EPS_Revised.pdf (11.78 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
A laser-wakefield driven x-ray source is used for the radiography of human bone. The betatron motion of accelerated electrons generates x-rays which are hard (critical energy ${{E}_{\text{crit}}}>30$ keV), have small source size (<3 μm) and high average brightness. The x-rays are generated from a helium gas cell which is near-instantly replenishable, and thus the average photon flux is limited by the repetition rate of the driving laser rather than the breakdown of the x-ray source. A tomograph of a human bone sample was recorded with a resolution down to 50 μm. The photon flux was sufficiently high that a radiograph could be taken with each laser shot, and the fact that x-ray beams were produced on 97% of shots minimised failed shots and facilitated full micro-computed tomography in a reasonable time scale of several hours, limited only by the laser repetition rate. The x-ray imaging beamline length (not including the laser) is shorter than that of a synchrotron source due to the high accelerating fields and small source size. Hence this interesting laboratory-based source may one day bridge the gap between small microfocus x-ray tubes and large synchrotron facilities.
Date Issued
2016-01
Date Acceptance
2015-09-10
Citation
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 2016, 58 (1)
ISSN
1361-6587
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Journal / Book Title
Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion
Volume
58
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
©2015 IOP Publishing Ltd.
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)
Grant Number
EP/H00601X/1
ST/J002062/1 John Adams Inst
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Physics, Nuclear
Physics
laser wakefield
betatron
x-ray
tomography
bone
SYNCHROTRON-RADIATION MICROTOMOGRAPHY
COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY
ELECTRON-BEAMS
ACCELERATOR
QUANTIFICATION
ALGORITHM
SYSTEM
TUBES
CT
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
014008
Date Publish Online
2015-10-20