Three-dimensional monochromatic x-ray computed tomography using synchrotron radiation

We describe a technique of three-dimensional computed tomography (3-D CT) using monochromatic x rays generated by synchrotron radiation, which performs a direct reconstruction of a 3-D volume image of an object from its cone-beam projections. For the development, we propose a practical scanning orbit of the x-ray source to obtain complete 3-D information on an object, and its corresponding 3-D image reconstruction algorithm. The validity and usefulness of the proposed scanning orbit and reconstruction algorithm were confirmed by computer simulation studies. Based on these investigations, we have developed a prototype 3-D monochromatic x-ray CT using synchrotron radiation, which provides exact 3-D reconstruction and material-selective imaging by using the K-edge energy subtraction technique.