A FLUOROSCOPY-BASED COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY SCANNER FOR SMALL SPECIMEN RESEARCH

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. A small-laboratory computed tomography (CT) system using a fluoroscopic system and a personal computer was fabrica ted and tested. The motivation for building this specimen scanner was to provide medical researchers with the capability of using CT as a pr actical tool in their research, as well as to provide an opportunity f or hands-on CT instruction. METHODS AND MATERIALS. The CT system was c onstructed using mostly off-the-shelf items; however, the CT stage its elf was custom fabricated and software development was necessary. In a ddition, a personal computer and a standard fluoroscopy system were us ed. RESULTS. The spatial resolution was found to match the 228-mum sam pling limitation, yielding approximately 2 line pairs per mm. Iodine c ontrast sensitivity studies showed that 1% solution of 370 mg/ml iodin e solution was easily detected (P almost-equal-to .05). CONCLUSIONS. A small CT scanner for specimen research can be economically constructe d, and is capable of good performance. The authors found substantial i nterest on the part of small animal researchers involved in a wide var iety of medical research.