Speakers
Michela Esposito
Volumetric imaging of mm-sized soft tissue samples with micron resolution opens new possibilities both in clinical and research settings, driven by the growing need for studying micro and nano scale structures in a three-dimensional context at the mesoscale. To answer these needs, we developed a laboratory-based x-ray microscope for volumetric imaging of soft tissue samples using intensity modulation masks.
In this talk we will report the first proof of concept for three-dimensional soft tissue imaging with a laboratory-based x-ray microscope based on intensity-modulation masks, allowing for multi-modal retrieval of transmission, refraction, and scattering. The newly developed microscope offers micron resolution in the resolved channels (transmission and refraction), while it can reach the nanoscale in the scattering channel. The combination of micron-level spatial resolution, set by the use of intensity modulation masks, and the enhanced contrast, arising from phase-based imaging, allows for sub-cellular in liver tissue. We will also discuss how the scattering signal correlates with nanoscale structures found in tissue, namely cellular nuclei and extra-cellular matrix.
Dr Michela Esposito is a Research Fellow at University College London within the Advanced X-ray Imaging (AXIm) group, where she works on developing novel imaging techniques for x-ray microscopy.
After a PhD on large area CMOS sensors for biomedical applications (University of Surrey), Michela joined the University of Lincoln where she developed novel instrumentation for image-guided proton therapy.
Michela joined UCL in 2020 where she worked on extending laboratory phase-based imaging techniques to microscopic scale lengths, leading to the development of a phase-based x-ray microscope for high content volumetric histology.
She has been recently funded (MRC and NIHR) to apply phase-contrast imaging techniques to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.