Development of micro CT for in VIVO

目的报道一种新研制的可供活体使用的微CT系统。绕着物件舞台旋转。检查了一只豚鼠和一只大鼠。麻醉的动物被放在安全物体舞台上。拍摄豚鼠头部和大鼠胫骨/膝关节的图像。此外，还采集了老鼠尾巴的标本。采用I-VIEW软件进行重建和图像观察。结果体素矩阵为512×512×384。体素大小为10μm×10μm×10μm~100μm×100μm×100μm，曝光时间17 S，重建时间150 S，分别在100μm和30μm体素下清晰地观察到豚鼠头部和大鼠的胫骨/膝关节。在10-μm体素下也能清晰地观察到尾部的骨小梁。结论新研制的微型计算机断层扫描技术可以获得麻醉动物的图像，并将其放置在安全的物台上。在较短的手术时间内可获得清晰的小动物骨骼图像。

ObjectivesThe aim of this paper is to report a newly developed micro-computed tomography for in vivo use.MethodsThe system was composed of a micro focus X-ray tube and an image intensifier (I.I.) that rotated around the object stage. A Guinea pig and a rat were examined. The anesthetized animal was set on the secure object stage. Images of the head of the Guinea pig and the tibia/knee joint of the rat were taken. In addition, a specimen of the rat tail was taken. The reconstruction and the image viewing were carried out using i-view software (J. Morita MFG, Kyoto, Japan).ResultsThe voxel matrix was 512x512x384. The voxel sizes ranged from 10μm x 10μm x 10μm to 100μm x 100μm x 100μm. The exposure time was 17 s, and the reconstruction time was 150 s. The head of the Guinea pig and the tibia/knee joint of the rat were observed clearly under 100-μm and 30-μm voxels, respectively. The trabecular bone of the tail was also observed clearly under the 10-μm voxel.ConclusionsThe newly developed micro-computed tomography makes it possible to obtain images of anesthetized animals which set on a secure object stage. Clear bone images of the small animals could be obtained within a short operation time.