Micro-computed tomography for small animal imaging:technological details

The high resolution micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) system has now become an important tool for biological research. The micro-CT system enables a non-invasive inspection to screen anatomical changes in small animals. The promising advantages include high spatial resolution, high sensitivity to bone and lung, short scan time and cost-effectiveness. The dose received by the small animal might be a critical concern in the research. In this article the choice of the components, fundamental physical problems, the image reconstruction algorithm and representative applications of micro-CT are summarized. Some results from our research group are also presented to show high-resolution images obtained by the micro-CT system.