AVIAN NEUROLOGY ACCESS BY X-RAY MICROTOMOGRAPHY

G. TIRAO; F.J. DEGRANGE; C.P. TAMBUSSI

PETRÓPOLIS

Congreso; XV Latin American Seminary of Analysis by X-Ray Techniques ? SARX 2016; 2016

The study in avian neurology has beenlargely enrichened by the use of CT scans. This methodology presents obviousadvantages. Materials usually do not need treatment before entering thescanner, no deterioration occurs during the scan, and the results allow thereconstruction of high-quality 3D models, which represent an essential step inorder to perform more complex anatomical and biomechanical studies. Thedatasets obtained by the scans are longlasting and easily portable,facilitating the comparison and study of the 3D models obtained, which areeasily manipulated, sectioned and redescribed. More importantly, thismethodology provides data on extant taxa characterized as ?very rare? orendangered, and extinct birds rare in the fossil record. In order to explorebrain anatomy in several bird species, X-ray micro-CT data were obtained usingan experiemntal micro-CT scanner available at Facultad de Matemática,Astronomía y Física (FaMAF). This equipment allows to obtain 2D and 3D imagesup to 20 cmx 20 cmwith resolutions of 194 microns. It is also possible to maximize the quality ofthe images from the control of main parameters involved in the imageacquisition: conformation of the X-ray beam (spatial and spectraldistribution), counting statistics, number of projections, relative position ofthe sample and detector. Different reconstruction algorithms and filtering algorithms were implemented in order to obtain highest quality 3D models. This isactually possible thanks to the interdisciplinary work of professionals fromdifferent areas of knowledge.