Xian, R Patrick;
Brunet, Joseph;
Huang, Yuze;
Wagner, Willi L;
Lee, Peter D;
Tafforeau, Paul;
Walsh, Claire L;
(2024)
A closer look at high-energy X-ray-induced bubble formation during soft tissue imaging.
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
, 31
(3)
pp. 566-577.
10.1107/S160057752400290X.
Preview |
PDF
ing5001.pdf - Published Version Download (3MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Improving the scalability of tissue imaging throughput with bright, coherent X-rays requires identifying and mitigating artifacts resulting from the interactions between X-rays and matter. At synchrotron sources, long-term imaging of soft tissues in solution can result in gas bubble formation or cavitation, which dramatically compromises image quality and integrity of the samples. By combining in-line phase-contrast imaging with gas chromatography in real time, we were able to track the onset and evolution of high-energy X-ray-induced gas bubbles in ethanol-embedded soft tissue samples for tens of minutes (two to three times the typical scan times). We demonstrate quantitatively that vacuum degassing of the sample during preparation can significantly delay bubble formation, offering up to a twofold improvement in dose tolerance, depending on the tissue type. However, once nucleated, bubble growth is faster in degassed than undegassed samples, indicating their distinct metastable states at bubble onset. Gas chromatography analysis shows increased solvent vaporization concurrent with bubble formation, yet the quantities of dissolved gasses remain unchanged. By coupling features extracted from the radiographs with computational analysis of bubble characteristics, we uncover dose-controlled kinetics and nucleation site-specific growth. These hallmark signatures provide quantitative constraints on the driving mechanisms of bubble formation and growth. Overall, the observations highlight bubble formation as a critical yet often overlooked hurdle in upscaling X-ray imaging for biological tissues and soft materials and we offer an empirical foundation for their understanding and imaging protocol optimization. More importantly, our approaches establish a top-down scheme to decipher the complex, multiscale radiation-matter interactions in these applications.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A closer look at high-energy X-ray-induced bubble formation during soft tissue imaging |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1107/S160057752400290X |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/s160057752400290x |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | bubble growth, gas chromatography, synchrotron X-rays, vacuum degassing |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10191825 |
Loading...
Loading...Loading...Loading...Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
