Micro-CT, located in the infrastructure of SUNUM Sabancı University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, is a 3D imaging technique that uses X-rays to see the inside of an object in cross-sections. Micro-CT, also called microtomography or micro computed tomography, is similar to the computed tomography scan imaging used in hospitals, but on a smaller scale with much higher resolution. In Micro-CT systems, X-rays are generated in an X-ray source, transmitted to the specimen and passed through the specimen to the X-ray detector, where they are recorded by the detector as a 2D projection image. The sample is then rotated rotationally by a fraction of a degree and another X-ray projection image is taken. This step is repeated for a rotation of 180 degrees (or sometimes 360 degrees, depending on the sample type). The series of X-ray projection images are then converted into cross-sectional images through a computational process called “reconstruction”. These cross-sections can be analyzed and then processed to create 3D model.
The Micro-CT available to researchers at SUNUM provides high-resolution 3D imaging information that cannot be obtained with any other non-destructive analysis technique. It can examine the internal structure of both material and biological samples without having to cut or break the samples, preserving them for future studies. Quantitative information from micro-CT scanning can only be provided from 3D images, and 3D digital models created from micro-CT virtual cross-sections allow scientists to measure any parameter for comparison in before-and-after studies.
These unique features of micro-CT scanning allow scientists to look at the morphology of a sample and study properties such as porosity, structure/bone thickness, volume fraction, defect analysis, density, particle size, voids, fiber orientation, etc. Researchers use micro-CT to study bone, teeth, composite materials, medical devices, batteries and more.
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