Imaging intact human organs with local resolution of cellular structures using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography

• DOI: 10.1038/s41592-021-01317-x
• Publication Date: 2021-11-04T11:37:43Z
• Authors: C. L. Walsh; P. Tafforeau; W. L. Wagner; D. J. Jafree; A. Bellier; C. Werlein; M. P. Kühnel; E. Boller; S. Walker-Samuel; J. L. Robertus; D. A. Long; J. Jacob; S. Marussi; E. Brown; N. Holroyd; D. D. Jonigk; M. Ackermann; P. D. Lee
• Keywords: Tomographic reconstruction

Abstract Imaging intact human organs from the organ to cellular scale in three dimensions is a goal of biomedical imaging. To meet this challenge, we developed hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), an X-ray phase propagation technique using European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)’s Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The spatial coherence ESRF-EBS combined with our beamline equipment, sample preparation and scanning developments enabled us perform non-destructive, three-dimensional (3D) scans hierarchically increasing resolution at any location whole organs. We applied HiP-CT image five types: brain, lung, heart, kidney spleen. provided structural overview each followed by multiple higher-resolution volumes interest, capturing organotypic functional units certain individual specialized cells within demonstrate potential applications through quantification morphometry glomeruli identification regional changes tissue architecture lung deceased donor coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).