Fast Small‐Angle X‐Ray Scattering Tensor Tomography: An Outlook into Future Applications in Life Sciences
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Small Angle-X-ray Scattering Tensor Tomography (SAS-TT) is a relatively new but powerful technique for studying the multiscale architecture of hierarchical structures particularly relevant to life science applications. Currently, the technique is very demanding on synchrotron beamtime, which limits its applications, especially for cases requiring a statistically relevant number of samples. This study reports the first SAS-TT measurement at a macromolecular X-ray crystallography beamline, PX-I at the Swiss Light Source (SLS), with an improvement in acquisition time from 96 h/Mvoxel in the pilot experiments to 6 h/Mvoxel with comparable sampling, defining a new standard for fast SAS-TT with a micrometer beam size and allowing to record a full tomogram in 1.2 h. Measurements are performed on the long and lenticular process of the incus bone, one of the three human auditory ossicles. The main orientation and degree of alignment of the mineralised collagen fibrils are characterised, as well as the size and shape of the mineral particles which show relevant variations in different tissue locations. The study reveals three distinct regions of high fibril alignment, most likely important pathways of sound throughout the ossicular chain, and highlights the technique's potential to aid in future developments in middle ear reconstructive surgery.
Source: Small Methods
Authors: Christian Appel, Margaux Schmeltz, Irene Rodriguez‐Fernandez, Lukas Anschuetz, Leonard C. Nielsen, Ezequiel Panepucci, Tomislav Marijolovic, Klaus Wakonig, Aleksandra Ivanovic, Anne Bonnin, Filip Leonarski, Justyna Wojdyla, Takashi Tomizaki, Manuel Guizar‐Sicairos, Kate Smith, John H. Beale, Wayne Glettig, Katherine E. McAuley, Oliver Bunk, Meitian Wang, Marianne Liebi
Institutions: Paul Scherrer Institute, ETH Zurich, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Hôpital Orthopédique de la Suisse Romande, The Sense Innovation and Research Center, University of Lausanne, Chalmers University of Technology, University of Bern, University Hospital of Bern, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Language: English
Subfield: Radiation
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,640
Awards: International, Interdisciplinary & Intersectoral Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Paul Scherrer Institut, G1582882145, G2045012241, International, Interdisciplinary and Intersectoral Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Paul Scherrer Institut, G3767771476, Multiscale changes in bone due to bio-resorbable implants: towards a prediction of structure and mechanical performance, G5578714457, G6363181476, G697987441, G712881263, The Human Auditory System in Motion: Direct Observation of the Microfunction of Sound Transmission using Dynamic Phase-contrast X-ray Imaging
OpenAlex ID: W4412487032