Implementation of a benchtop energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction computed tomography system for in vitro tissue characterisation

该项目将为能量色散X射线衍射计算机断层扫描（EDXRDCT）开发新的几何结构，用于生物组织的表征，特别关注乳腺组织。该研究将与曼彻斯特大学材料学院、皇家萨里县医院细胞病理学系、乳房X线摄影物理学国家协调中心、Barts和伦敦NHS信托基金的乳房筛查单位合作开展，并得到工业合作者（Morpho Detection，Inc.和东南健康技术联盟）。X射线衍射可以识别低对比度病变及其特征，包括癌症识别和分期。由于生物组织固有的不均匀性，基于X射线衍射的典型样品的表征需要使用计算机断层扫描（CT）。然而，工作到目前为止，在衍射CT领域使用多色源仅限于第一代CT的几何形状，需要整体采集时间与临床requires.The目前的工作将是基于两个新的几何形状，将减少采集时间到几分钟/切片的发展和优化。基于这两种几何结构组合的系统将来可用于快速活检或表征术后标本，时间尺度足够短，以保证对临床常规的干扰最小。这将允许快速有效地诊断癌症，靶向治疗和减少不必要的手术，从而有助于优化医疗保健服务中的资源使用，并为人口提供普遍福利。建议的两种几何形状将依赖于切割的组合-边缘技术和先进的数据处理算法。定制的测试对象将被设计和建造，以模拟衍射和几何特性，乳腺病变最初将在这些物体上评估所提出的两种几何形状，然后在项目的最后阶段，在皇家萨里县医院细胞病理科提供的福尔马林固定的乳腺组织样本上进行评估。对组织样本的测试将评估使用不同几何结构的相同标本的结果的可重复性，以及具有相同组织学特性的不同标本的组织区域的衍射图案的可重复性。这些基于实验室的系统的结果将与曼彻斯特大学材料学院合作实验中使用同步辐射获得的结果进行比较，以及使用常规方法的组织学评估。

The project will develop novel geometries for Energy-Dispersive X-ray Diffraction Computed Tomography (EDXRDCT) for the characterisation of biological tissue, with specific focus on breast tissue. It will be carried out in collaboration with the School of Materials of the University of Manchester, the Cellular Pathology Department at Royal Surrey County Hospital, the National Coordinating Centre for Physics in Mammography and the Breast Screening Unit at Barts and The London NHS Trust and with the support of industrial collaborators (Morpho Detection, Inc. and South East Health Technology Alliance).X-ray diffraction allows identification of low-contrast lesions and their characterisation, including cancer identification and staging. Due to the intrinsic non-uniformity of biological tissue, characterisation of typical specimens based on X-ray diffraction requires the use of Computed Tomography (CT). However, work so far in the field of diffraction CT using polychromatic sources was limited to the first generation CT geometry, requiring overall acquisition times incompatible with clinical requirements.The present work will be based around the development and optimisation of two novel geometries that will reduce the acquisition times to a few minutes/slice. A system based on the combination of the two geometries could be used in the future for fast biopsy or characterisation of post-operatory specimens with a short enough timescale to guarantee minimum disruption to the clinical routine. This will allow fast and effective diagnosis of cancer, targeted treatment and reduction of unnecessary operations, thus contributing to an optimised use of resources in the Healthcare Service and to the general welfare of the population.The two geometries proposed will rely on a combination of cutting-edge technology and advanced data processing algorithms.Custom test objects will be designed and built to simulate the diffraction and geometrical properties of breast lesions. The two geometries proposed will be evaluated initially on these objects, and then, in the final stages of the project, on formalin-fixed breast tissue samples provided form the Cellular Pathology Department at Royal Surrey County Hospital. Tests on tissue samples will assess the repeatability of results from the same specimen using different geometries, and the repeatability of diffraction patterns from tissue regions from different specimens with the same histological properties.Results from these lab-based systems will be compared to those obtained using synchrotron radiation in collaborative experiments with the School of Materials at the University of Manchester, and to histological assessment using conventional methods.