A new high resolution imaging facility at University of Córdoba for research and application purposes

MAURO VALENTE; FRANCISCO MALANO; CLARA QUINTANA; PEDRO PEREZ; GERMÁN TIRAO

Santa Marta Cartagena

Congreso; SARX 13 - XIII Latin American Seminary of Analysis by X-Ray Techniques; 2012

SARX

This work reports briefly the most important phases accomplished during the projection, design, construction, characterisation and preliminary reliability and capability tests and first simple applications of the integrated multi-task imaging facility at the Laboratorio de Investigaciones e Instrumentación en Física Aplicada a la Medicina e Imágenes por Rayos X (LIIFAMIRX) of the University of Córdoba, Argentina. The facility was projected during 2008 and its construction has been supported by different scientific institutes from Argentina. Facility design, mechanics and electronics construction, hardware communications, controlling software and dedicated image processing and visualisation algorithms were absolutely realised by the medical physics group at the Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física (FaMAF)? Universidad Nacional de Córdoba with the collaboration of mechanics and electronics research groups of the faculty. The integrated multi-task imaging facility consists of different imaging lines, each one devoted to a specific modality. High-resolution absorption contrast 2D and 3D imaging constitutes the main line, whereas X-ray fluorescence scanning and scattering imaging lines are associated. At the present, bunker, connection to X-ray source, vacuum systems, energy-dispersive and 2D detection modules are already working. Additionally, mechanics, electronics, hardware control software as well as dedicated image processing, tomographic reconstruction and multi-modality visualisation algorithms are complete for the main line. Radiation protection, facility platform as well as mechanic, electronic and vacuum modules have been carefully tested ensuring their correct functionality. Also detection systems and in-home developed associated software have shown to work appropriately. Additional some specific X-ray optics accessories, like collimation and filtering systems are still being under development with the aim of improving the performance for some none typically applications. The results obtained with the high resolution absorption contrast imaging line demonstrate its reliability pointing out its significant advantages and suggesting a great potentiality for non-destructive and non-invasive biological sample high resolution characterisation.