HIGH-RESOLUTION TOMOGRAPHY OF MILLIMETER-TO CENTIMETER-SIZED FOSSILS USING THREE-DIMENSIONAL X-RAY MICROSCOPY
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Abstract:
Among imaging techniques for paleontology,computed tomography(CT)is an unparallel one when comparing to conventional optical and electronic imaging methods, because it can reconstruct both external and internal structures of fossils without destroying them.As a powerful non-destructive three-dimensional imaging technique,CT is widely used in paleontological community recent years. Here,we introduce a new micro-CT technique,three-dimensional X-ray microscopy(3 D-XRM). Different from the conventional micro-CT characterized by geometric magnification and absorption contrast,this new technique has four merits:(1)it can provide micron to sub-micron spatial resolution due to a CCD-based optical system;(2)it can reconstruct centimeter-to millimeter-sized specimens with lowZ materials using propagation phase contrast imaging mode;(3)based on the new architecture and specific algorithms,the system has a"zoom-in function" which can precisely reconstruct any"region of interests(ROIs)"located inside a comparatively large specimen with micron to submicron resolution;(4)contrary to conventional micro-CT,this new system can reconstruct small size high aspect-ratio flat specimens(width ＜10 cm) and tubular microfossils with high resolution.Owing to the merits,3 D-XRM can provide high quality reconstructions for millimeterto centimeter-sized fossils with three-dimensional preservation.
