Small-vessel radiography in situ with monochromatic synchrotron radiation

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of a radiographic system with monochromatic synchrotron radiation to depict small vessels and peripheral secretory ducts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Radiography of various organs was tested in 14 anesthetized dogs and pancreatography was performed in an excised human pancreas by using the following system: monochromatic synchrotron radiation with an energy level just above the k absorption edge of iodine as an x-ray source and a high-definition TV system with a high-light-sensitivity image pick-up tube camera coupled with a fluorescent screen as a detector. RESULTS: This system allowed depiction of small vessels (diameter <50-100 mu m) of the heart (penetrating transmural artery), brain (perforating arteries that arise directly in the circle of Willis), and intestinal organs (vasa recta and their submucosal communications) and of small branches (down to the fifth order) of the pancreatic duct. CONCLUSION: The synchrotron radiation system may be useful for evaluating microcirculatory disorders and early-stage malignant tumors in various human organs.