Three-Dimensional Imaging of Nerve Tissue by X-Ray Phase-Contrast Microtomography

• Published in: Biophysical journal Vol. 76; no. 1; pp. 98 - 102
• Main Authors: Beckmann, F., Heise, K., Kölsch, B., Bonse, U., Rajewsky, M.F., Bartscher, M., Biermann, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 1999; Biophysical Society
• Subjects: Animals; Biophysical Phenomena; Biophysics; Carcinogens - toxicity; Ethylnitrosourea - toxicity; Neurilemmoma - chemically induced; Neurilemmoma - diagnostic imaging; Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms - chemically induced; Peripheral Nervous System Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Rats; Schwannoma cells; Tomography, X-Ray - instrumentation; Tomography, X-Ray - methods; trigeminal nerve; Trigeminal Nerve - diagnostic imaging; X-ray phase-contrast microtomography
• ISSN: 0006-3495; 1542-0086
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3495(99)77181-X

We show that promising information about the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a peripheral nerve can be obtained by x-ray phase-contrast microtomography (p-
μCT; Beckmann, F., U. Bonse, F. Busch, and O. Günnewig, 1997.
J. Comp. Assist. Tomogr. 21:539–553). P-
μCT measures electronic charge density, which for most substances is proportional to mass density in fairly good approximation.
The true point-by-point variation of density is thus determined in 3D at presently 1 mg/cm
3
standard error (SE). The intracranial part of the rat trigeminal nerve analyzed for the presence of early schwannoma “microtumors” displayed a detailed density structure on p-
μCT density maps. The average density of brain and nerve tissue was measured to range from 0.990 to 0.994
g/cm
3 and from 1.020 to 1.035
g/cm
3, respectively. The brain-nerve interface was well delineated. Within the nerve tissue, a pattern of nerve fibers could be seen that followed the nerve axis and contrasted against the bulk by 7 to 10
mg/cm
3 density modulation. Based on the fact that regions of tumor growth have an increased number density of cell nuclei, and hence of the higher z element phosphorus, it may become possible to detect very early neural “microtumors” through increases of average density on the order of 10 to 15
mg/cm
3 by using this method.