Design of Small Animal Computed Tomography Imaging for in vitro and in vivo Studies

Introduction: Mini Computed Tomography (mini-CT) was suggested in biomedical research to investigate tissues and small animals. We present designed and built a mini x-ray computed tomography (mini-CT) for small animals as well as industrial component imaging. Materials and Methods: The system used in this study includes a X-ray tube 20kV to 160kV and a flat panel detector with a pixel size of 200µm×200µm. The tested specimens are stacked on a stable rotating system. Due to the ability to change the distance between tube and sample, as well as sample to detector, we can virtually control magnification and FOV. A magnification change will produce images with different spatial resolution. In this way, changing the FOV scanner can actually achieve different spatial resolutions Results: In this scanner, the spatial resolution varies as a function of the system FOV where the FOV can be changed from 43 to 10 (by changing the source to object distance), thus improving the spatial resolution from 3.9 up to 14.4 cycle/mm, respectively. Conclusion: The system designed in this research can be used as a scanner in pre-clinical and industrial research, due to the relationship between the FOV and the spatial resolution.