Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction tomography

A novel tomographic imaging technique is described based on the energy analysis, at fixed angle, of coherent X-ray scatter excited in an object by polychromatic radiation. The authors term their technique 'energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction tomography' (EXDT). It permits the X-ray diffraction properties of small voxels of an extended object to be measured in vivo. Tomographic information is obtained directly without the need to reconstruct from projections. EXDT images of a simple test object comprising water and various plastic materials are presented to illustrate the feasibility of the technique. Potential applications of EXDT in bone imaging are discussed.