Making Clear the Imperceptible: In-Line X-ray Phase Contrast Imaging

A wide range of materials of interest in the sciences and medicine can exhibit weak X-ray attenuation but yet still produce significant phase shifts at the same X-ray wavelengths. The use of phase information for imaging purposes therefore represents an attractive prospect. Images formed from differences in phase produced by an object manifest from the varying refraction of the X-rays. This paper presents a number of examples of X-ray phase-contrast images drawn from challenging biomedical situations, yielding strong improvements in contrast and resolution over conventional X-ray imaging methods. The X-ray phase-contrast images obtained herein have been obtained using a simple experimental setup comprising a bench-top micro-focal X-ray source rather than the more experimentally complex diffraction or interferometer based systems that are promoted in conjunction with the use of synchrotron radiation.