Micro-CT as a guide for clinical CT development

Micro-CT, with voxel size similar to 10(-5) mm(3), has a great advantage over traditional microscopic methods in its ability to generate detailed 3D images in relatively large, opaque, volumes such as an intact mouse femur, heart or kidney. In addition to providing new insights into tissue structure-to-function interrelationships, micro-CT can contribute to suggesting new applications of clinical CT imaging such as: A. The spatio-density-temporal resolution that is needed to: 1) Quantitate an organ's Basic Functional Unit (smallest collection of diverse cells that behaves like the organ), which requires voxels less than 10(-4) mm(3) in volume. 2) Quantitate new vessel growth which manifests as increased x-ray contrast enhancement in tissues during passage of a bolus of intravascular contrast agent. 3) Quantitate endothelial integrity by the movement of x-ray contrast agents across the endothelial inner lining of vessel walls. B. The use of x-ray scatter for providing the contrast amongst soft tissue components and/or their interfaces for enhanced discrimination of nerve and muscular/tendon fiber directions.