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Exciting capabilities of X-ray tomography at CT Scanner highlighted in Nature Reviews
Author: E Els
Published: 30/03/2021

​X-ray computed tomography (CT) can reveal the internal details of objects in three dimensions non-destructively. This non-destructive imaging modality is well known in its medical form, but it is also very useful for imaging materials and structures of non-medical nature. 


The non-destructive nature of the method allows examining delicate samples that can't be easily sectioned, like priceless museum artefacts, unique biological specimens, brittle engineering materials, even such things as frozen ice cream. It is also of advantage on samples where the structural integrity of an engineering component must be assured before it is deployed, like a turbine blade. It can also be used to evaluate wear and tear on in-service parts, among many other uses.​

In an article published in Nature Reviews Methods Primers, scientists outlined the basic principles of CT and described the ways in which a CT scan can be acquired using X-ray tubes and synchrotron sources, including the different possible contrast modes that can be exploited. They explained the process of computationally reconstructing three-dimensional (3D) images from 2D radiographs and how to segment the 3D images for subsequent visualization and quantification.  The field of X-ray CT is expanding rapidly both in terms of the range of applications and with regard to the development of new imaging modalities. Many applications now popular are explained in the paper, highlighting the potential and capabilities for new users of the technique in particular.

CT is widely used in medical and heavy industrial contexts at relatively low resolutions, but in this article, scientists focused on the application of higher resolution X-ray CT across science and engineering. They considered the application of X-ray CT to study subjects across the materials, metrology and manufacturing, engineering, food, biological, geological and palaeontological sciences. They also examined how CT can be used to follow the structural evolution of materials in three dimensions in real-time or in a time-lapse manner, for example, to follow materials manufacturing or the in-service behaviour and degradation of manufactured components. Finally, they considered the potential for radiation damage and common sources of imaging artefacts, discuss reproducibility issues and consider future advances and opportunities.

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Prof Anton du Plessis

E-mail: anton2@sun.ac.za