A FLUOROSCOPY-BASED COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY SCANNER FOR SMALL SPECIMEN RESEARCH

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. A small-laboratory computed tomography (CT) system using a fluoroscopic system and a personal computer was fabricated and tested. The motivation for building this specimen scanner was to provide medical researchers with the capability of using CT as a practical tool in their research, as well as to provide an opportunity for hands-on CT instruction. METHODS AND MATERIALS. The CT system was constructed using mostly off-the-shelf items; however, the CT stage itself was custom fabricated and software development was necessary. In addition, a personal computer and a standard fluoroscopy system were used. RESULTS. The spatial resolution was found to match the 228-mum sampling limitation, yielding approximately 2 line pairs per mm. Iodine contrast sensitivity studies showed that 1% solution of 370 mg/ml iodine solution was easily detected (P almost-equal-to .05). CONCLUSIONS. A small CT scanner for specimen research can be economically constructed, and is capable of good performance. The authors found substantial interest on the part of small animal researchers involved in a wide variety of medical research.