Department of Physics
Condensed Matter Seminar

A synchrotron biomedical research facility is nearing completion at the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Biomedical Imaging and Therapy (BMIT) facility will provide high intensity, high x-ray energy light for a wide variety of imaging and therapy programs. This facility is now in the construction phase with some initial operations which began late last year (December 2008). Several imaging methods (absorption-edge subtraction imaging, diffraction enhanced imaging, phase contrast imaging, and absorption imaging) in projection and computed tomography modes as well as monochromatic beam and filtered white beam therapy methods will be available at this facility. Much of the imaging work at this facility will rely on x-ray phase contrast using methods developed in the past several years, primarily at synchrotron facilities. One of the techniques that exploit phase mechanisms is Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI). This method develops subject contrast from x-ray refraction and ultra-small angle x-ray scattering (USAXS) as well as the usual x-ray attenuation and is easily applied using synchrotron x-ray sources. The physics of the contrast mechanisms, imaging system details as well as applications to mammography, cartilage / joint imaging, and small animal imaging will be presented. Some progress has been made in developing laboratory based systems which DEI and examples of imaging with them will be given along with some details of the arrangements used. Finally, an example of a new application of absorption edge imaging combined with fluorescence imaging will be presented. This work has led to the possibility of imaging gene expression in animal systems using x-rays which could revolutionize some areas of genetic research.