Purpose: Investigation of the hardware and image characteristics of a novel micro-CT system and evaluation of its potential to image animals and tissue samples.
Materials and methods: The scanner was characterized by phantom studies regarding image homogeneity, CT number stability, soft-tissue contrast, spatial resolution and X-ray dose. The phantoms used were specially designed to evaluate the imaging of mice and rats. Scans of hearts with coronary stents were performed and the tissue morphology and vascularization of tumor-bearing rodents were studied with dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) CT.
Results: The CT numbers of the acrylic phantoms were reproducible with a 4 HU deviation. The inter-pixel deviation was low but depended on the scan mode. The correlation coefficient between CT number and iodine concentration (0 - 6000 HU) was 0.99. Single wires, lumen and endo-luminal plaques of heart stents were distinguishable. The density-time courses were reliably recorded and made it possible to distinguish the tumor and muscle tissue in DCE micro-CT scans
Conclusion: The novel micro-CT scanner is suitable for studying tissue densities and contrast agent kinetics.