Small animal lung imaging with an in-line X-ray phase contrast benchtop system

We present the results from a benchtop X-ray phase-contrast (XPC) method for lung imaging that represents a paradigm shift in the way small animal lung imaging is performed. In our method, information regarding airway microstructure that is encoded within speckle texture of a single XPC radiograph is decoded to spatially resolve changes in lung properties such as microstructure sizes, air volumes, and compliance, to name a few. Such functional information cannot be derived from conventional lung radiography or any other 2D imaging modality. By computing these images at different time points within a breathing cycle, dynamic functional imaging can be potentially achieved without the need for tomography.