JERUSALEM, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Researchers have developed a new X-ray method to map elements inside a sample in three dimensions without scanning every tiny point, Israel's Bar Ilan University said in a statement on Tuesday.
The technique, called X-ray fluorescence ghost tomography and detailed in the journal Optica, could help scientists study materials, batteries, rocks and biological tissues faster and more efficiently.
X-rays make atoms glow at element-specific energies, or "colors," allowing researchers to identify them.
Instead of copying an image pixel by pixel, the new method projects patterns of X-rays through the sample and collects the combined glowing signals with a detector. Then a computer solves one large mathematical problem to rebuild the 3D element map.
In tests, the researchers mapped nearly 2.8 million 3D pixels using only 400 pattern measurements per angle. Across 276 angles, that totaled about 110,000 measurements, versus 4.75 million for the old point-by-point scanning. That is roughly 97 percent less data, while retaining useful detail.
They explained that the method exploits the fact that most real samples are "sparse," or mostly empty or made of only a few materials.
The researchers caution that denser samples will require corrections, and the computation is heavy. Still, the approach could make 3D chemical imaging faster, cheaper, and practical for large or delicate samples, they said. ■
