Cone-Beam Computed Tomography Dataset of a Seashell

Summary

This dataset is a collection of X-ray projection images of a seashell imaged in a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner. The dataset also includes a metadata file, specifying the scan geometry and other important scan parameters, and photographs of the sample and the measurement setup.

Description

Sample Information

The sample is an empty seashell of an unknown species, approximately 4.3 cm in length and 2.5 cm in diameter. The sample was placed in a plastic tube filled with cotton wool to prevent unwanted motion during the scan.

Scanner

The measurements were acquired using a cone-beam computed tomography scanner designed and constructed in-house in the Industrial Mathematics Computed Tomography Laboratory at the University of Helsinki. The scanner consists of a molybdenum target X-ray tube (Oxford Instruments XTF5011), a motorized rotation stage (Thorlabs CR1-Z7), and a 12-bit, 2240x2368 pixel, energy-integrating flat panel detector (Hamatsu Photonics C7942CA-22).

Scan Settings

721 X-ray projections were acquired using an angle increment of 0.5 degrees. The X-ray source voltage and tube current were set at 50 kV and 1 mA, respectively. The exposure time of the flat panel detector was set to 1000 ms.

Data Post-Processing

Two correction images were acquired before scanning the sample. A dark current image was created by averaging 100 images taken with the X-ray source off. A flat-field image was created by averaging 100 images taken with the X-ray source switched on with no sample placed in the scanner. After the scan, dark current and flat-field corrections were applied to each projection image using the Hamamatsu HiPic imaging software version 9.3.

Data Format

The X-ray projections are stored in .tif format. The metadata is contained in .txt file with formatting that is both human-readable and machine-readable.

Notes

Due to a slightly misaligned center of rotation in the scanner, the CT reconstructions can appear blurry. It was empirically observed that this problem can be compensated for quite well by shifting each projection left by 4 pixels, using circular boundary conditions, before performing any other operations on the projections.

Research Group

This dataset was produced by the Inverse Problems research group at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Helsinki, Finland: https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/inverse-problems.

Additional Links

To get started with the data, we recommend looking at the HelTomo toolbox, specifically created for working with CBCT data collected in the Industrial Mathematics Computed Tomography Laboratory, and available at https://github.com/Diagonalizable/HelTomo

Contact Details

For more information or guidance in using these datasets, please contact alexander.meaney [at] helsinki.fi.