Abstract
After X-ray discovery, the X-ray imaging has been used in various fields including a medical diagnosis, and detects the difference of the linear attenuation coefficient in the object. In low atomic number elements constituting the soft tissue, the difference of the linear attenuation coefficient is very low. So it is difficult to depict clear image of soft tissue using conventional X-ray imaging. Recently, phase-contrast X-ray CT with an X-ray interferometer is being developed. This imaging system detects X-ray phase shift, is approximately 1000 times higher sensitivity than conventional X-rays imaging. Thus, various internal structures of biological specimens can be visualized without usage of any contrast agents. In this study, the visualization of rat's spleen was examined by phase-contrast X-ray CT. Phase-contrast X-ray CT clearly depicted the internal structure of rat's spleen such as white pulp, red pulp and blood vessels resembling to histological image.
