Figure 12.

Imaging bone with X-ray phase-contrast techniques. (a) Bone ultrastructure of mouse femur assessed with ptychographic CT at 65 nm isotropic voxel size, where bone microporosities (osteocyte lacunae and canaliculi) are visible. The continuous advances in synchrotron radiation-based imaging techniques led to spatial resolutions below 20 nm, which allows direct assessment of the bone ultrastructure organization. (Image from [225] with kind permission of Nature Publishing Group.) (b) Human femoral bone imaged using X-ray phase nanotomography at 60 nm isotropic voxel size. (c) Compartmentalization of the images via a 3 µm grid and image post-processing results in the assessment of the ultrastructure orientation. ((b,c) Images from [226] with kind permission of Elsevier.) (Online version in colour.)